CMS Navigator grant for state of Montana - Montana Primary Care Association – Project Abstract - CMS-NAV-24-001 Montana Primary Care Association is a private, not-for-profit 501c6 corporation. Since 1987, MPCA has provided a coordinating structure to community health centers (CHCs) whose principal purpose is to deliver primary and preventive healthcare to underserved and vulnerable populations in a culturally appropriate manner irrespective of the ability to pay. MPCA members also include Montana’s five Urban Indian Health Centers. MPCA identifies and engages in training and technical assistance designed to improve CHC compliance with federal Health Center Program requirements and to enhance each health center’s clinical, operational, financial, and outreach and enrollment performance so that the health of underserved communities and vulnerable populations is measurably improved. MPCA has led Montana’s outreach and enrollment efforts since 2013, and in 2014, with the support of MPCA’s diverse partners, MPCA built the Cover Montana project which consists of two main functions: 1. Public education through the Cover Montana website and state-specific Cover Montana and Cover Native Montana branded materials; & 2. Coordination of outreach and enrollment stakeholders to maximize outreach efforts and ensure excellence in training and technical assistance. In 2021, MPCA was awarded a three-year Navigator grant to serve the entire state of Montana. Through CMS-NAV-24-001, MPCA will continue to provide statewide Navigator services with a combination of in-state assistance and a virtual or tele-Navigator program. This approach ensures that the hardest-to-reach and most vulnerable Montanans can be served with in-person support, but all Montanans will have access to Navigator services. MPCA has identified seven target populations for the Navigator work: 1. Low-income Montanans and those who are unhoused; 2. Montanans who are eligible, but not enrolled in Medicaid; 3. American Indians and Alaska Natives; 4. Pregnant women, new mothers, and women with children; 5. Rural Montanans; 6. Individuals with substance-related disorders, and 7. LGBTQ2S+ individuals. These target populations are uninsured at higher rates and historically lack regular access to health care. They also experience many social determinants of health and have health disparities in comparison to the rest of Montana. MPCA will continue to serve the entire state of Montana and to focus on reaching Montanans who lost Medicaid coverage during Medicaid Unwinding. While the specific outreach and enrollment tactics for each population differ, MPCA will leverage existing partnerships with organizations serving these priority populations to develop robust screening and referral partners, identify opportunities for targeted outreach assistance, and strengthen a network of partners committed to increasing health insurance literacy among uninsured and newly insured Montanans. MPCA will develop state-specific and population-specific materials and messages to effectively reach and enroll target populations and strategically utilize paid and earned media. MPCA is requesting $1.25M in year 1 and 1.25M each subsequent year for the five years of the grant. MPCA will contract with First Choice Services to provide virtual and tele-Navigation and the proposed grant will fund a total of 18 Navigators (10 FTE; 9 part time: 1 @.8 FTE, 3 @.25 FTE, 1 @ .2 FTE, and 3 @ .1) The project will adhere to the highest standards of culturally and linguistically appropriate services as well as privacy and security consumer information.
