HHS will significantly cut funding to organizations called "navigators" that help people enroll in insurance coverage on the ACA marketplace, reports The Washington Post.
The future federal funding for navigators has been unclear. But HHS recently notified the grassroots groups that fund navigators of the cuts, which could be as high as 92 percent, according to the report.
Groups received the news weeks after HHS announced it will cut the ACA's advertising budget by 90 percent in 2018 to $10 million. HHS cited inefficiency in how the advertising money has been spent as reasoning behind the decision. As far as navigators, federal officials have also cited inefficiency in terms of money spent compared to the number of people signed up, according to the report.
However, the report states, some lawmakers and other advocates of navigators said the cuts would negatively impact the ACA enrollment process for consumers and are meant to hurt the ACA.
President Donald Trump's administration has shortened open enrollment for 2018 to 45 days, meaning it will begin Nov. 1 and end Dec. 15 rather than Jan. 31.