Western Maine Community Action lands $521K grant

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, announced on Friday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $521,000 to Western Maine Community Action to help Mainers navigate and enroll in health coverage options offered through the federally facilitated marketplace under the Affordable Care Act.

WMCA leads a statewide consortium of eight community action agencies, collectively referred to as the WMCA Community Action Navigator Consortium, that provides education, outreach and enrollment assistance uninsured and under-insured individuals in Maine. Over the past two years, it has built on this foundation to continue targeting low- and moderate-income individuals, including young adults who are either under-insured or uninsured.

“The Affordable Care Act has helped provide thousands of Mainers with access to high-quality, affordable health care,” Sen. King said in a release. “This grant funding will support Western Maine Community Action in its important mission to help people and their families across the state navigate their options and enroll in a health care plan that best suits their needs.”

Established in 1965, WMCA is a private nonprofit community agency dedicated to the belief that people can help themselves when they have access to the appropriate resources, education and support. The group’s mission is to strengthen and coordinate resources — private, local, state and federal — that will help people live independent and self-sufficient lives. Along with helping people find affordable health plans and navigate the insurance marketplace, WMCA fulfills its mission by providing services to help people out of economic uncertainty and through advocacy aimed at changing the circumstances causing that uncertainty.