It only gets curiouser and curiouser. Mountan Projects was one of at least four North Carolina organizations to receive a grant from a source left to reader inference. Moneys are to fund navigators for people interested in using the affordable healthcare “marketplace” set to open October 1. Mountain Projects received $359,750.
Out of alleged pure harassment, fifteen partisans sent a letter to people wanting to provide navigators stating:
In order to better understand the work you will perform as a navigator and the consumer protections that will be in place before open enrollment begins on Oct. 1, 2013, we ask that you contact Committee staff to schedule a briefing to occur no later than Sept. 13, 2013, to discuss your participation as a navigator in the health insurance exchanges.
Navigators and their supervisors, who have presumably mastered the content of the thousand-page bill and understand all its implications, are allergic to paperwork and don’t want it getting in the way of implementation. Justifying the letter, committee spokeswoman Noelle Clemente replied:
This particular program is now $13 million over budget, ballooning 25 percent before it even started. Despite repeated concerns voiced by House Republicans about inadequate training, HHS (Health and Human Services) decided to proceed with the program before even finalizing what that training would be. There is no reason basic questions cannot or should not be answered.
