For her final capstone project, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service student Abby Olivier of Hattiesburg, Miss., studied the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Arkansas.
Olivier partnered with the Arkansas Insurance Department’s Arkansas Health Connector Division to help plan and execute insurance enrollment events around the state. Through this partnership, she spoke with In-Person Assisters (IPAs) on challenges and successes of engaging their communities to enroll in a healthcare plan. She also interviewed various experts and stakeholders in the field of health insurance enrollment and health policy.
With this information, she wrote a case analysis study of the open enrollment period with a special focus on the challenges and successes of community engagement. She analyzed the most effective strategies various IPA organizations and healthcare institutions participated in to enroll Arkansans and reflected on best practices for future enrollment periods.**
“Engaging the community effectively is essential to our job in helping consumers enroll,” said Jarrod Johnson, Deputy Communications Director of the Arkansas Health Connector. “It’s important that we analyzed what worked best and what could be improved.”
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**In early March, the Arkansas State Legislature passed an amendment in SB111, now Act 257, that prohibits funding for marketing and outreach for the Private Option and the federal Insurance Marketplace.
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