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Faith-based navigators ask Orangeburg council to help enroll uninsured residents
Summary
Certified health navigators from Choose Healthy Life South Carolina told the City Council that faith-based outreach is underway to enroll uninsured residents in the Affordable Care Act marketplace and asked for help spreading information locally.
Crystal Darby, a certified health navigator with Choose Healthy Life South Carolina, told the Orangeburg City Council that her group is working with local churches to enroll uninsured residents in plans available through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Darby said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved a proposal that selected nine churches across South Carolina to assist with outreach and enrollment; Victory Tabernacle is one of those churches. "We came here this evening to make you all aware and ask for your help in just getting the word out," she said, offering flyers and volunteer speakers to attend local churches and meetings.
Darby told the council the organization’s proposal estimated there were 69,000 uninsured African Americans in South Carolina and that "there are 4,600 African Americans uninsured in Orangeburg County. That is 61.3% of our population." She said some plans listed on the healthcare marketplace have premiums that start at $0 per month and that some residents instead rely on sliding-fee services at family health centers.
The presentation emphasized faith-based outreach and partnerships already formed with several churches and the NAACP; Darby said she and a colleague, Marsha Gunter, became certified navigators and have "been hitting the ground running to help get our citizens insured." She asked the council and community leaders to publicize the program and to allow navigators to speak at events and congregation meetings.
Council members and staff asked whether navigators had materials and whether they had partnered with local health providers; Darby said flyers were available and that the family health center and other local collaborators were aware of the outreach. She said the group had not yet connected with the hospital but planned to pursue that contact.
Why this matters: Darby framed the outreach as an effort to reduce health disparities she attributed in part to lack of insurance and affordability. The organizers are using churches as local access points to help residents enroll in marketplace plans.
The council did not take formal action during the presentation. Darby left flyers and offered to follow up with city and hospital staff about outreach coordination.
