Connecting Consumers to Coverage: The Role of Navigators & Consumer Assistance Programs in Implementing Health Reform in New York

Despite the ACA’s recognition that effective enrollment and consumer assistance is an essential component of health reform, important design questions about the Navigators and CAPs remain unanswered and must be resolved for New York to move forward: What should be the core functions of Navigators and CAPs in New York? How should New York structure and administer its Navigators and CAPs to maximize integration and avoid duplication of efforts? How should New York leverage existing enrollment and consumer assistance resources into the Navigators and CAPs? How much will the Navigators and CAPs cost and how should they be funded? This paper seeks to address these questions and the unresolved ambiguities presented by the ACA.