WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced today that two healthcare organizations will receive grant awards from the Department of Health and Human Services to help Mainers look for and enroll in health coverage options offered through the marketplace under the Affordable Care Act. Western Maine Community Action will receive $520,376 and Fishing Partnership Support Services will receive $79,624.

“The Affordable Care Act has helped thousands of Mainers sign up for high-quality, affordable health insurance,” Senator King said. “These funds will play an important role in helping people across the state understand their options and enroll in the plan that best suits their needs.”

Western Maine Community Action, Inc. is a private non-profit community agency and serves as the lead for a state-wide consortium of eight community action agencies, collectively referred to as the WMCA Community Action Navigator Consortium. As a 2013 Navigator grantee, funds were used to create a statewide network of education, outreach and enrollment assistance available and accessible to every uninsured and under-insured individual in Maine. This year, it will build on this foundation to continue targeting low and moderate income individuals, including the under and uninsured and young adults.

Fishing Partnership Health Support Services, formerly Fishing Partnership Health Plan, served as a 2013 Navigator grantee and is a health plan developed to provide subsidized coverage to uninsured commercial fisherman, many of whom operate as small business owners or employees. FPHSS will coordinate with the Maine Lobstermen's Association to undertake a series of community health navigation activities, including: outreach; social marketing; distribution of material describing the program, the Affordable Care Act, and the health insurance enrollment process.

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