Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Wednesday $150 million in grant awards to 1,159 health centers nationwide to help enroll Americans in the health-care law’s new insurance coverage options.
With the new funding, HHS says they expect these centers to hire “2,900 outreach and eligibility assistance workers” to help with education and enrollment.
“Investing in health centers means that people in neighborhoods and towns across the country have one more resource to help them understand their insurance options and enroll in affordable coverage,” Sebelius said in a statement.
With the announcement, HHS also released state-by-state lists of health centers receiving this funding. The department says that health centers currently serve more than 21 million patients a year.
According to HHS, the enrollment assistance grants are meant to “complement and align” with other efforts like the “navigator” program aimed at helping people enroll in Obamacare.
“Health centers are excited to help individuals in their communities take advantage of the benefits of new health insurance coverage options that start January 2014,” said Health Resources and Services Administration administrator Mary Wakefield said. “Having trained, face-to-face assistance in enrollment from trusted resources at local health centers means that more people will get the help they need.”
The grant announcement comes as the government gears up for the Oct. 1 opening of the new health insurance exchanges.
Last week the Obama administration announced it would delay for a year the employer mandate. Republicans have called on Obama to also provide the rest of America a reprieve from the individual mandate.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that the administration does not plan to delay the individual mandate.