Governor Murphy Signs Executive Order to Coordinate State ACA Enrollment Efforts
Trenton – Governor Phil Murphy today signed an Executive Order that will direct all state agencies that interact with the public to provide information regarding enrollment in the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Those efforts will include posting signs with enrollment information, publishing relevant information on agency websites, distributing pamphlets at key public interaction locations, and integrating information into forms wherever appropriate.
The Executive Order will also mandate the training of agency staff to provide information to consumers and require employees to work with ACA enrollment navigators.
“President Trump has attempted to undermine access to affordable health care at every turn,” Governor Murphy said. “By stepping in at the state level, better advertising ACA enrollment periods, and properly coordinating efforts to raise awareness at our state agencies, we can help combat those efforts and make sure that New Jersey residents don’t miss out on registering for vital health insurance.”
As part of the Executive Order, each state agency that interacts directly with the public will submit a report to the Governor’s Office by May 31, 2018 detailing the steps that agency has taken to promote enrollment. The agencies will also be required to submit an updated report by August 31, 2018.
Last year, the Trump Administration cut the ACA enrollment period in half, cut the advertising budget for the program and reduced New Jersey’s ACA outreach funding by over $1 million. Almost 280,000 New Jerseyans registered for the Affordable Care Act in 2017, a dip from the previous year before federal changes to the program were enacted.
“This Executive Order will allow us to confidently move toward the November 1, 2018 enrollment period with the knowledge that New Jersey residents have been better educated about health care options,” Governor Murphy said. “The most effective tool we have in the fight for the Affordable Care Act is education, and we are striving to get information to as many consumers in New Jersey as possible.”
The text of Executive Order #4.