State OKs rules for health insurance navigators | www.myajc.com

A new workforce of so-called health insurance “navigators” — called for by the Affordable Care Act — will have to undergo special training and be licensed by Georgia’s insurance department, according to new state rules.

The navigators will help uninsured Georgians make sense of dozens of health plans that will be available through a new online insurance marketplace, called an exchange, that’s set to open Oct. 1. Nearly 900,000 Georgia consumers are expected to shop on the federally run exchange — a key part of the health law’s aim to provide health coverage to millions of Americans.

The exchange will cater to people who don’t get insurance through work, such as students, the unemployed and the self-employed.

The rules stem from a state law passed last spring that’s aimed at ensuring the navigators are knowledgeable about the exchange website and the insurance policies that will be sold on it, as well as the state’s Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids health programs. Navigators also will help consumers determine if they qualify for federal subsidies.

The state will not be hiring navigators, but it has an interest in their abilities.

“I want to make sure that individuals who provide insurance advice to Georgia citizens are qualified to do so,” Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said in a statement.

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