Key Questions to Consider in Setting Up a Navigator Program

3. How can navigators make services accessible to people with disabilities?

Studies on the demographics of the uninsured show that this population includes vulnerable consumers with a range of disabilities.²⁹ Exchanges are required to make consumer assistance resources and information accessible to people with disabilities by providing websites and telephone assistance in alternative formats for individuals with hearing or vision impairments. It is critical to build on these tools to ensure that in-person assistance is accessible to individuals who use other types of assistive technologies and interpreter services, or who have limited mobility. To do this, secure your program’s access to these resources, conduct scheduled home visits, and provide enrollment assistance at sites that are physically accessible. Providing personalized assistance to this population will also require specialized training. For example, this training might include information on how to identify assistance needs, effective approaches to communication, working with authorized representatives, awareness of medical needs that are common among target populations, and how to help consumers with specific health needs connect with certain types of providers.

Outreach to individuals with disabilities may also present other unique challenges. Navigator programs should therefore develop relationships with programs and organizations that serve this population, such as vocational rehabilitation programs; centers for independent living; advocacy organizations for people with disabilities (such as state Family Voices chapters); university centers on disability; state agencies for developmental disability services; and Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, which are federally funded to provide legal advocacy services to people with disabilities in every state.³⁰ These programs may provide useful partnerships for delivering services, for training, and for developing resources for navigator and assister programs.

SHIP Tips: Providing Accessible Services

• Develop policies, procedures, and guidelines for providing accessible services, and partner with agencies and organizations that serve individuals with specific needs to establish referral relationships and connect with expert resources.³¹
• Provide sensitivity and skills training on how to effectively communicate with individuals with different disabilities, including respectful language choices and guidance on physical interactions.³²
• Train counselors about the health needs associated with specific disabilities that may be important to consider when individuals are selecting a health plan, such as the accessibility of providers that have appropriate equipment or that provide specific services.³³
• Develop a resource list of sign language interpreters with proficiency in multiple sign language systems, as well as a list of organizations that can provide auxiliary aids, services, and equipment.³⁴
• Provide program, outreach, and educational materials, including materials that are used during counseling, in alternate formats, for example, large-print and Braille versions.
• Ensure that outreach events and sites where enrollment assistance is provided are physically accessible.³⁵

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