Champions? Are You Serious?

I happened to run across a webinar invite for assorted Obamacare helpers that included the

term Champions for Healthcare.

What the heck?

So I asked Prof. Google and here is what I found.

Millions of people signed up for health coverage in the initial year of the federally-run Health Insurance Marketplace. For 2015 coverage, the open enrollment period will run from November 15, 2014 to February 15, 2015. Champions are key to sharing this information with their networks and communities.

CMS

Another DC giveaway program that spends taxpayer money instead of using EXISTING conduits (that would be insurance agents) with several years of experience educating people about health insurance options.

This is like spending a billion+ dollars on a website that STILL doesn't work vs. hiring someone in the private sector that had EXPERIENCE creating a health insurance shopping mall build it for you.

But then, "they didn't build that".

How many taxpayer funded "partners" and Champions are out there?

We don't know the exact number but there are at least 900 entities that got funding to promote Obamacare.

How much taxpayer money is at stake?

Last week (prior to August 22, 2013), HHS awarded $67 million to 105 Navigator grant applicants.  More than 1,200 community health centers across the country have received more than $150 million to help enroll uninsured Americans in coverage.

HHS

And $150M is just the tip of the iceberg.

For what it's worth, I know people who have spoken with navigators and similar entities and the feedback clearly indicates most of those people have no clue what they are doing.

Why does this not surprise me?