Cooperative Agreement to Support Navigators in Federally-facilitated Exchanges | CA NAV 18 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for CA NAV 18 001

The grant opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement to Support Navigators in Federally-facilitated Exchanges" (Funding Opportunity Number: CA NAV 18 001) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) through the Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight office. It falls under the health funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.332. The opportunity was created on July 10, 2018, with an original application closing date of August 9, 2018.

At a high level, the program supports "Navigator" activities connected to the Federally-facilitated Exchanges (FFEs), which are the federal health insurance marketplaces that have been operating since 2013 for the 2014 open enrollment period. Navigators are typically organizations funded to help consumers understand their health coverage options and enroll in coverage offered through the Marketplace, especially during open enrollment or when people experience qualifying life events that make them eligible for special enrollment. Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, recipients should generally expect a closer working relationship and more ongoing involvement from the federal government than is typical under a standard grant, including more specific programmatic expectations and oversight tied to the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).

The main policy message driving this specific funding opportunity is that the Navigator program is being intentionally reduced in scope compared with earlier years. CMS frames this as a response to the Marketplace environment maturing over time. In the early days of the Exchanges, public awareness was limited and consumers often needed hands-on, in-person help to understand new coverage pathways, financial assistance, and enrollment steps. During that period, HHS encouraged Navigators to "cast a wide net" and provide intensive face-to-face assistance. By 2018, CMS states that awareness and understanding of Marketplace coverage options had improved, and that consumers could also rely on several other types of enrollment assistance that were not as prominent in the earliest years. These additional resources include certified application counselors, direct enrollment partners, and Exchange-registered agents and brokers. Because these other channels can help consumers with education and enrollment, CMS indicates it is appropriate to "scale down" the Navigator program to reflect the changed environment.

The eligibility field in the source data is listed as "Others," which typically signals that eligibility is defined more specifically in the NOFO rather than being limited to a simple category like state governments or universities. In practical terms, Navigator funding has often gone to nonprofits, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and similar entities that can demonstrate the capacity to conduct outreach, provide enrollment assistance, and meet federal training and performance requirements. However, the details of who qualifies, what exact service areas are covered, and what organizational capabilities are required would be spelled out in the NOFO referenced in the description.

Two details in the provided listing are worth noting for planning purposes. First, the award ceiling is shown as "0," which usually means the ceiling is either not specified in the summary record or varies based on factors explained in the NOFO (such as service area, proposed scope, or available appropriations). Second, the "ExpectedAwards" field is blank in the provided data, which suggests the number of awards was not captured in this record or is also defined in the NOFO. Anyone trying to understand the likely size, number, or distribution of awards would need to consult the NOFO for the actual funding levels, performance periods, deliverables, and reporting requirements.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as continued federal support for Marketplace Navigator work in FFEs, but with an explicit shift away from the earlier era of broad, highly intensive, face-to-face assistance. CMS is signaling that Navigators remain part of the consumer assistance ecosystem, but the program should operate at a reduced scale because consumers have more familiarity with the Marketplace and because other enrollment assistance partners can shoulder more of the demand. For the precise expectations around activities, required outputs, target populations, geographic coverage, and evaluation metrics, the NOFO is the controlling document.

• The CMS-Consumer Information Insurance Oversight in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement to Support Navigators in Federally-facilitated Exchanges" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.332.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-07-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-08-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for CA NAV 18 001

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