The funding comes from the consumer assistance program, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and is distributed to states to help them set up phone-centers to help consumers with health insurance questions or concerns.
Thirty-million dollars of community assistance program grant money was set aside for states to set up consumer assistance centers. The phone-centers, which are either run by a local government or independent consumer office, have helped about 60 percent of callers receive full case-management services and 40 percent receive educational or referral services, according to a CMS report.
The 38 states that originally participated are eligible to apply for the additional $2.5 million in grant money that was not originally spent in the first round of the community assistance program in 2010.
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