December 9, 2013 — The Maine Lobstermen’s Association is serving as an official navigator to help its members shop for and enroll in the new health insurance marketplace.
December marks the beginning of the end of high lobster fishing season in Maine. A time when many of the state’s roughly 5,800 lobstermen will haul in their gear and begin to dive into the new healthcare law, Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, told the Bangor Daily News.
As independent business owners, lobstermen are responsible for their own health insurance, and with the complexities of enrolling in the new Health Insurance Marketplace under the Affordable Care Act, MLA, in partnership with Fishing Partnership Support Services (FPSS), is serving as a navigator to help lobstermen throughout the state shop and enroll in the new system.
“We wanted to be a part of this to help Maine lobstermen understand the new health law and the new requirements—to make sure that they have all the information they need about what’s available for options for health coverage so they can make the best informed decision for what they need,” said April Gilmore, MLA’s certified navigator.