Enroll America has doubled staff, set up operations in 10 states

The not-for-profit group responsible for educating Americans about the healthcare reform law's coverage options provided a status check of its efforts on Monday, but remained vague about how much it is spending on the massive endeavor.

Throughout 2014, Enroll America will spend “tens of millions” of dollars on the “Get Covered” campaign that it launched in late June, Anne Filipic, the group's president, told reporters in a phone call. That money has come from a variety of sources, including private foundations, corporations, individuals and hospital systems. When pressed later for a specific figure, a spokeswoman for the group said the budget question had already been answered. Filipic noted that her group has more than doubled its staff to 130 employees and is committed to a multiyear effort in educating Americans about the 2010 law and the insurance coverage options that might be available to them.

“The marketplaces open in just 50 days, but this isn't just a short sprint,” Filipic said. “We're in this for the long run.”

John Gilbert, Enroll America's national field director, said the group has staff in 10 states—Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas—and plans to maintain its presence there. The organization has also expanded its volunteer base “in the 3,000 range and we're looking to go beyond that,” Gilbert said. As Filipic explained, Enroll America chose to place staff in those 10 states because there is a high concentration of uninsured individuals in those areas, and also because other states with similarly uninsured populations—such as California—currently have resources to build awareness. In those instances, Filipic added, her group will work to support the efforts.

Nick Duran, Enroll America's state director in Florida, said the organization's staff and volunteers have found a “genuine thirst for knowledge” about what the law means, as well as a strong interest in spreading the word about its potential benefits.

Looking ahead, the group sees the back-to-school period as an opportunity to inform more people about the law and also views community colleges as a place to target young adults, a key audience for the marketplaces.

Meanwhile, the Enroll America leaders were asked how the staff and volunteers are handling conversations with consumers when the rates for the new plans are still unknown in most states. Gilbert said staff and volunteers don't get so specific that they talk about what types of plans people will choose. Instead, the outreach effort is intended to show what options might be available to people without insurance and where they need to go for more information. And he stressed that these conversations are just the beginning of a conversation that Enroll America expects to continue with the thousands of people they've already reached.

“We fully believe that for this to be effective,” Gilbert said, “this has to be Step 1 of a full dialogue.”

Follow Jessica Zigmond on Twitter: @MHjzigmond