Online Program

295635
Getting kids and families covered: Advocacy strategies for success


Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 3:15 p.m. - 3:35 p.m.

Christine Barber, MS, Community Catalyst, Boston, MA
Many mandatory provisions of the ACA affecting children and families will go live in 2014. Evidence shows that helping parents gain health insurance increases the likelihood that children also have and use health coverage. As outreach to and enrollment of families begins, the public health community should be connected to these efforts and be at the table to contribute to ongoing efforts. Many state governments and advocates are focused on ensuring that families understand their health care options and enroll in coverage beginning in October. These systems and efforts to implement them vary state to state, with some states actively pursuing coverage expansions and others continuing to obstruct consumer access to coverage. State-based consumer advocacy networks play a pivotal role in supporting outreach and enrollment and working with policymakers and other stakeholders to facilitate ACA implementation. Specifically, advocates are using a variety of strategies to connect children and families to coverage, including on the ground outreach campaigns, enhanced enrollment opportunities, and feedback loops with state agencies and federal stakeholders. Including the public health community in these efforts will boost the impact of these efforts and increase the number of parents and children who are connected to coverage.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe the strategies that advocates are using on the ground to facilitate enrollment. Describe how the public health community can align their efforts with those of consumer advocates to boost enrollment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As a Senior Policy Analyst at Community Catalyst, Christine Barber conducts research and analysis on health care policy at the state and national levels, and she works closely with state consumer advocacy groups to expand access to quality affordable health care. Christine leads Community Catalyst’s work on private insurance and health insurance Exchanges, and is an expert on consumer assistance programs.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.