The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) is pleased to announce the release of the Rural Outreach Benefits Counseling Program (Benefits Counseling), a new one-time funding opportunity.

FORHP is committed to increasing health insurance coverage for all of rural Americans and is providing funding for this new community-based pilot program. The Benefits Counseling Program is targeted to improve outreach and service delivery in local and regional rural communities. The purpose of the three-year program is to expand health insurance outreach, education and enrollment efforts to eligible uninsured and newly insured individuals and families in rural communities. FORHP plans to award up to 10 new awards for $75,000 per year.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created a pathway to health insurance for many Americans. As a result, FORHP provided supplemental resources to current community-based grantees to help stimulate outreach and enrollment in rural communities. In 2013, FORHP grantees conducted over 1,100 outreach events, educated over 22,000 consumers about affordable health care options and enrolled over 9,000 eligible consumers into affordable health insurance coverage offered through the ACA. The Benefits Counseling Program will build upon the successes of these supplemental grants.

Applicants must meet all three of the following eligibility requirements: 1) Located in a rural county or eligible rural census tract (please click here<http://datawarehouse.hrsa.gov/RuralAdvisor/RuralHealthAdvisor.aspx> to determine rural eligibility); 2) Public and non-profit entities including faith-based and community organizations and tribal governments and organizations, and 3) In a consortium with at least two additional organizations. The consortium must include at least three or more health care providers.

FORHP will hold a technical assistance webinar on Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 1:00 PM EST to assist applicants in preparing their applications. The technical assistance webinar is open to the general public. The toll-free call-in number (for audio) is 800-619-7597, and the passcode is 7509059. The webinar URL (for web) is https://hrsa.connectsolutions.com/rural_outreachfoa/ (log in as “guest”). Furthermore, in an effort to share lessons learned among a broader audience, FORHP developed a resource titled “Best Practices Guide to Rural Outreach and Enrollment<http://www.hrsa.gov/ruralhealth/affordablecareact/bestpracticesoutreachenrollment.pdf>”, which highlights outreach and enrollment successes and challenges at the community level.

To download the application package, please click on: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=272389

For further information, please contact: Linda Kwon, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.<mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.> or 301-594-4205.

Thank you for your continued work in rural America!