Republicans are calling for a review of the state’s management of Affordable Care Act navigators. Lee Strubinger has the report.
State Representative Darlene Senger and four other Republican members of the Illinois House want the state’s insurance department to audit the navigator program. Navigators are paid to help consumers apply for coverage on Affordable Care Act’s online marketplace.
Illinois received federal money to hire about 15 hundred navigators, at cost Republicans say is topping 36 million dollars. Senger, a Republican from Naperville, says there hasn’t been enough information about how the money is being used.
“We’ve been asking this question now for three years. You know, what federal money has come in, and how has the money been spent, and what those results are. And we haven’t seen … haven’t seen the dollars,” Senger said.
Senger and another Representative calling for the audit -- Representative Mike Bost from Murphysboro -- are both running for U.S. Congress. But they say they’re raising concerns as state lawmakers, not congressional candidates.
A spokeswoman for the state’s insurance marketplace says Illinois closely monitors navigators. The state requires three days of training more, than what’s required by the feds. The spokeswoman says navigators must also pass background checks.
