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'I Was a Navigator' in the 1970s -- They're Not New

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

In his latest column atOur Health Policy Matters, consultant Paul Gionfriddo pokes fun at the hypocrisy of Florida and other officials who are fanning fears of "navigators" -- enrollment advisors for the federal online Marketplace opening Oct. 1 under the Affordable Care Act.

Gionfriddo, a former Connecticut legislator who now lives in Lake Worth, says Gov. Rick Scott could have discovered that navigators are  no threat simply  by looking at enrollment efforts that are already well under way in states like Connecticut that want to help people get insured.

Or he can take the word of Gionfriddo, who says he was a navigator as a VISTA volunteer when Richard Nixon was president.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.