Obama's job program: Meet Obamacare's "navigators" (insurance, dollars, state government)

[EdwardA]

I wonder if this new class of workers will be represented by unions?

Enter the “navigators,” an enormous new workforce of helpers required under the law. In large measure, the success of the law and its overriding aim of making sure that virtually all Americans have health insurance depends on these people. But the challenge of hiring and paying for a new class of workers is immense and is one of the most pressing issues as the Obama administration and state governments implement the law.

Tens of thousands of workers will be needed — California alone plans to certify 21,000 helpers — with the tab likely to run in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I would say the task we face is Herculean,” said Denise de Percin, executive director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, an advocacy group that has studied what it will take to staff her state’s navigator program.

Washington Post

[curly_Q]

I thought I would respond to this since no one seemed to notice when the Navigators crept into American citizens' daily lives.

With issues on background checks on people like Edward Snowden and most recently the Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis (both had government issued security clearances with searches conducted by a private contractor), how can we trust these Navigators will be cleared enough to have access?

[Little-Acorn]

Originally Posted by curly_Q

I thought I would respond to this since no one seemed to notice when the Navigators crept into American citizens' daily lives.

With issues on background checks on people like Edward Snowden and most recently the Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis (both had government issued security clearances with searches conducted by a private contractor), how can we trust these Navigators will be cleared enough to have access?

Don't be silly.

They're from the government, they're here to help us.

[evilnewbie]

I wonder if they know most of the employees are only temporary...