The Affordable Care Act, the new Federal Health Insurance Law, offers new opportunities for the uninsured and for your organization to assist them.
There is a new program called In-Person Assisters, (IPA) that will help people who are uninsured get information and access to health insurance.
We would also like your help to spread the world about the new options in health insurance so everyone knows how they can get access to health coverage.
In Person Assisters (IPAs) will help people figure out what health insurance is right for them and will help them sign up for insurance - Medicaid or new options through our state's Health Insurance Exchange. IPAs will help people who wouldn’t be likely to sign themselves up for insurance online.
We expect that hundreds of IPAs will be housed in community-based nonprofit organizations or faith organizations across the state or in small businesses that already focus on helping the community.
The goal is to have a community-based organization that may already have relationships with people help them with these very personal decisions about their health coverage. There will be grants of up to $6,000 to cover expenses for each In-Person Assister these organizations provide. IPAs will need to attend training and pass a certification test. We are contacting organizations to learn how best to provide the training so it fits into your schedule. Let us know on the form below if you have ideas about this.
The organization will identify IPAs, most likely on a part-time schedule including nights and weekends. The IPAs will need to be comfortable with computers and with filling out forms, along with the importance of confidentiality and customer service.
Within the next month, the Office of the Health Care Advocate on behalf of the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange (Access Health CT) will send out a Request for Proposals for organizations that would be interested in providing this service to the community.
Training for IPAs will be provided over the summer. IPAs will begin assisting customers in late summer or early September with education about health insurance options. Enrollment begins on October 1, 2013.The new insurance will take effect January 1, 2014.
Strategic Management Consulting is researching the best way to provide this program and is identifying organizations to receive this Request for Proposals.
Because the In-Person Assister program is a new concept, we are seeking to raise awareness of the IPA program in advance of the publication of the RFP.
If you are interested in receiving the RFP, in learning more about the program, or in being a promotional partner, please fill out this brief questionnaire.
If you have any questions, please indicate them in the space provided, or send an email to kgervais@strategicmanagementconsulting.org
