Mercy Care is the entity that will perform the navigator activities described under this cooperative agreement. No entities will receive grant funds as sub-Recipients or sub-Awardees to provide Navigator services. Total federal request for the 2023-2024 budget period is $154,537. Mercy Care has been a federally qualified health center since 1989 and implemented its Outreach & Enrollment programming in 2013 with funding from the Health Resources & Services Administration through the Affordable Care Act. The targeted population includes persons experiencing homelessness, marginally housed and low-income individuals in metro Atlanta. Funding will support a portion of the Georgia Federally Funded Exchange (FFE). Specifically, the primary service area will include DeKalb and Fulton counties (including the City of Atlanta). According to U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts, 11% of individuals in Fulton and 14% of individuals in DeKalb are uninsured. The team is led by an Outreach & Enrollment Coordinator (Project Director) and an Outreach and Enrollment Specialist (or Certified Navigator).
For the 2023-2024 budget period, one Navigator and the Project Director will be federally trained and certified/re-certified by October 1, 2023 and throughout the open enrollment (OE) period which will end on January 15, 2024. Both the Navigator and Project Director will be fully certified and meet all state requirements by the start of OE on November 1, 2023.
a. Total number of federally trained and certified/re-certified Navigators: 2 Navigators
b. Out of the total number listed in (a), how many Navigators will be paid full-time/100% from Navigator grant funds: 1 Navigator
c. Out of the total number listed in (a), how many Navigators will be paid part-time/100% from Navigator grant funds: 1 Navigator working full-time but only 50% paid from Navigator grant funds - 1 @ 50%
d. Out of the total number listed in (a), how many Navigators will be volunteers/not paid from
Navigator grant funds: 0
Two active Navigator staff will remain federally trained and certified/re-certified post-OE, January 16, 2024 through the end of the budget period on August 26, 2024.
a. Total number of federally trained and certified/re-certified Navigators: 2 Navigators
b. Out of the total number listed in (a), how many Navigators will be paid full-time/100% from Navigator grant funds: 1 Navigator
c. Out of the total number listed in (a), how many Navigators will be paid part-time/100% from Navigator grant funds: 1 Navigator working full-time but only 50% paid from Navigator grant funds - 1 @ 50%
d. Out of the total number listed in (a), how many Navigators will be volunteers/not paid from
Navigator grant funds: 0
The Navigator and Project Director will conduct education and outreach activities focused on routine enrollment assistance, case management, and other wraparound assistance, such as healthcare, referrals, and transportation assistance. Mercy Care will coordinate community-based activities such as health fairs and information sessions throughout the year, with a special emphasis on heavy promotion during the Marketplace Open Enrollment and back-to-school periods. The activities will be facilitated through strategic partnerships with the City of Atlanta Public Schools, Mercy Housing, local libraries, Columbia Residential, and Grady Hospital, the city's only remaining safety-net hospital. These activities will be even more critical during Year 3 of this cooperative agreement since the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 ended the continuous enrollment in Medicaid that was authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic. The State of Georgia resumed regular eligibility and enrollment operations on April 1, 2023, including renewal and coverage terminations.