NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  — The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, a nonprofit grantmaking and research organization, announced the launch of a new grant program, Supporting Health Coverage Enrollment Efforts, that will support organizations statewide that help eligible people secure and maintain MassHealth (Medicaid) or other insurance coverage.  

 

The Foundation awarded a total of $600,000 to 10 community-based organizations located across the state.

 

Recipient Ecu-Health Care will use the grant to provide extensive outreach, education and application enrollment assistance to uninsured and underinsured individuals across Northern Berkshire County.

 

The two-year grant program arrives at a time when the health coverage enrollment environment has been strained by the unwinding of the pandemic-era continuous coverage requirement and subsequent MassHealth redetermination process.  The funding will primarily help expand Certified Application Counselor, or CAC, capacity in the Commonwealth.  CACs are trained individuals who help consumers as they look for health coverage options, including completing their eligibility and enrollment forms.

 

"We created this program to provide substantial and timely resources to the enrollment assistance system, enabling organizations with strong ties to their communities to strengthen their capacity to serve as a source of reliable support for health insurance enrollment," said Audrey Shelto, President and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.

 

The grant program prioritizes community-based organizations that primarily serve people who have been socially, economically, culturally or racially marginalized and areas of the state that are in need of stronger enrollment support. Organizations each received $60,000 in the initial year of funding.