The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides new health care options for Americans. The ACA brings affordable health insurance coverage and expanded access to mental health and substance use disorder services to millions of Americans. Community outreach and enrollment efforts can play a vital role in making sure that uninsured individuals learn about new health insurance opportunities. Organizations, including behavioral health providers, working with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals and families face unique outreach and enrollment challenges. Some of these challenges include homelessness, confusion around eligibility for AI/AN-specific and general social services programs, difficulties with transportation, distrust of the public health care system, and financial barriers such as high out-of-pocket medical expenses and prescription costs.
This strategy brief provides 10 strategies that your organization can use to help introduce AI/AN individuals and families to the new health insurance options. Examples are provided from organizations that have successfully used these strategies.
Population of focus: American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
Links to resource:
- Strategies for Behavioral Health Organizations to Promote New Health Insurance Opportunities in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities (pdf)
- Download the brief from the SAMHSA website
Date: 2014
Organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration