title: Educating, Enrolling, And Engaging: The State Of Marketplace Consumer Assistance Under The Affordable Care Act.
abstract: Programs created under the Affordable Care Act to connect consumers to health care coverage represent an unprecedented public-sector investment. State-level implementation of these programs has varied greatly, making it possible to learn from differences in strategy and performance. In this article we assess the current state of Marketplace enrollment assistance, synthesizing evidence from published evaluations (largely derived from grey literature) and analyses of data from nationwide surveys of assisters. Synthesis of this evidence suggests that assister programs play a vital role supporting consumers in the new Marketplaces, particularly when assisters maintain extended ongoing relationships with consumers; assisters come from and are situated within communities they serve; local programs are well coordinated; and postenrollment issues can be addressed. Stable funding commitments, year-round employment, and enriched training were identified as crucial long-run strategies for building a more professional assister workforce and stronger infrastructure.
authors.affiliation: Rachel Grob (rgrob@wisc.edu) is director of national initiatives and an associate clinical professor at the Center for Patient Partnerships and senior scientist in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grob
authors.affiliation: Mark Schlesinger is a professor of health policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the School of Public Health, Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlesinger
mesh_terms: D004608:Eligibility Determination; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; D014481:United States
keywords: Access To Care; Consumer Issues; Health Reform; Insurance Market < Insurance; State/Local Issues