Funding for Obamacare Outreach Program Reduced by 90 Percent

February 15, 2025 TruthUSA

The Affordable Care Act navigator program will now receive $10 million each year. In contrast, last year it was granted $98 million.

On February 14, the Trump administration reduced funding for an outreach initiative associated with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that assists individuals in enrolling in health insurance, as reported by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS).

The agency announced in a statement that ACA navigators will be allocated $10 million annually for the next four years. Last year, the navigator program received $98 million, as indicated by the agency. The ACA, enacted in 2010, is a comprehensive healthcare initiative commonly known as Obamacare.

CMS described the funding cut as a cost-saving measure that would enable health exchanges to adopt more efficient strategies.

“Overall, navigator performance data shows that the current level of funding does not represent a reasonable return on investment,” CMS officials stated. “These numbers indicate that navigators are not enrolling nearly enough people to justify the substantial amount of federal dollars previously spent on the program.”

In 2024, navigators managed to enroll only 92,000 consumers, amounting to “just 0.6 percent of plan selections through the [federally facilitated exchanges] during the open enrollment period … at an expenditure of $1,061 per enrollment.”

“Furthermore, the average cost per enrollment was over $3,000 for 12 out of the 56 navigator grantee organizations. Reflecting on the grant period covering the 2019 plan year—the year preceding the COVID-19 pandemic under a similar regulatory framework—navigators similarly enrolled 0.6 percent of total enrollments through the FFEs at a considerably lower cost of $10 million,” the statement further elaborated.

In response to the CMS announcement, Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) expressed her disapproval, stating that the funding reduction was “a direct attack on the health, well-being, and financial stability of communities throughout” her district.

A nonprofit organization named Protect Our Care highlighted in a statement that the initial Trump administration also slashed funding for the Obamacare navigator program, claiming that this resulted in over 1 million individuals failing to secure coverage.

However, the CMS statement released on Friday mentioned that the reduction in funding would save $360 million over four years and clarified that the user fees paid to navigators are “directly passed through to the premiums charged by health insurers.”

“The savings resultant from the navigator program will contribute to reducing premiums for consumers in the individual health insurance marketplace,” it noted. “Individuals who do not qualify for federal premium subsidies will directly benefit from decreased premiums. Lower premiums will also lead to reduced federal expenditure on premium subsidies.”

This announcement marks one of the first significant health-related actions taken under the Trump administration, coinciding with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s swearing-in as secretary of Health and Human Services just a day prior.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kennedy was questioned about Obamacare and Medicaid, asserting that Americans “do not favor” either federal program. Instead, he claimed that Americans “prefer private insurance” but find it financially unfeasible.

“We must heed what the populace prefers,” he commented.

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