Needs Navigation: Guiding Patients Through the Healthcare Maze

In today’s complex world, navigating the maze of available resources can be overwhelming, especially when facing health challenges or financial hardship. This is where the invaluable service of Needs Navigation comes in. Needs Navigation guides patients and caregivers to the resources they need to ease their cost concerns. It goes far beyond simply providing a list of services; Needs Navigation offers personalized support, connecting people with the right programs and helping them overcome barriers to access. But the impact of this crucial support is threatened by possible cuts to funding that supports Medicaid, SNAP, and other safety net programs.

Needs Navigation is a holistic and comprehensive approach. It recognizes that a person’s well-being isn’t just about medical care. It’s about the interconnectedness of various needs: housing, food security, transportation, education, social support, and yes, healthcare. Needs Navigation considers the whole person, working to identify patients’ unique needs and develop a tailored plan to address social and financial concerns resulting from their health condition and related circumstances. They don’t just point to financial aid programs; they help individuals determine eligibility and navigate the often-complicated application process to secure enrollment and relief.

Think of it this way: a medical resource list is like a map. It shows destinations with multiple options for routes, but it doesn’t guide you there. The people who provide Needs Navigation are your tour guides, helping you chart the best course, providing traffic tips, and ensuring you reach your destination smoothly and without depleting your fuel tank.

Who Provides Needs Navigation?

The people who provide Needs Navigation come from diverse backgrounds. They might be social workers, community health workers, nurses, patients or financial advocates, or even volunteers. What they share is a passion for helping others and a deep understanding of the resources available within their communities. They are the bridge between those in need and the services that can help them. Trained in specialized skills to listen, empathize, and advocate for getting access to what their patients need most, these staff can be seriously smart and scrappy in finding solutions!

How Healthcare Cuts Impact Needs Navigation

Cuts to safety net programs like Medicaid directly undermine the effectiveness of what Needs Navigation can accomplish. When funding is slashed, the pool of available resources shrinks. This means:

Fewer Services: Clinics may close, programs may be scaled back, and waiting lists may grow longer. This makes successful Needs Navigation harder, as there are far fewer options to connect people with responsive resources.
Increased Demand: As healthcare becomes less accessible, more people will turn to Needs Navigation for help. This increased demand strains an already limited supply.
Greater Complexity: Navigating a system with fewer resources and more restrictions becomes even more complex, requiring navigators to spend more time and effort on each case.

Cuts to these safety-net programs put the most vulnerable populations at risk. Those who rely on Medicaid, including older Americans in long-term care facilities, low-income adults and children, and individuals with disabilities among others will face even greater challenges accessing the care and support they need. And as the safety net frays, the role of Needs Navigation becomes even more critical, even as the ability to help is diminished by the very cuts they are trying to mitigate.

Take Tracy A.’s family for example. Tracy’s mother, Ms. Debbie, retired in December 2023 and now lives in a long-term skilled nursing facility because she can no longer live on her own. While she receives Medicare, it does not cover long-term care costs, leaving her reliant on Medicaid for assistance.

Without Medicaid, Ms. Debbie would not be able to afford the care she needs. But navigating the Medicaid system is often complex and overwhelming. When Tracy received her mother’s Medicaid renewal notice on November 16, she was shocked to see that the documents were dated October 15 and had a deadline to renew by November 17—giving her just one day to complete and submit the paperwork.

Stories like Ms. Debbie’s highlight the critical need for Medicaid and the vital role of the people who provide Needs Navigation in ensuring patients and caregivers can access and maintain their benefits without disrupting their quality of care. Without Medicaid, millions of families would be left without options. Without Needs Navigation many would struggle to get the help they need in time. We must continue to protect and strengthen these essential services for the patients and caregivers who rely on them.

The Impact is Clear

Investing in Needs Navigation is an investment in community health and well-being. It’s a proactive approach that enables individuals to take control of their lives and access the resources they need to thrive. Cutting healthcare funding not only jeopardizes access to care; it weakens the vital support system provided by Needs Navigation, leaving vulnerable populations even further behind. We must recognize the importance of this essential approach providing humanistic care and advocate for policies that support its scaled growth.

Our Call to Action

At NPAF, we are sensitive to these threats and are poised to push against funding cuts to navigator and safety net programs to preserve the progress we’ve made and to start the plan for scaling Needs Navigation. We need your help!

Join us for NPAF Policy Consortium: Navigators Roundtable: On Wed, March 12 at 2 pm ET, we will hear directly from the very people who provide Needs Navigation, including the biggest barriers to access and how we can overcome them. (If you are reading this after March 12, 2025, there will be other opportunities to sign up for a future Policy Consortium event).
Share your story: Because we are working closely with leaders in Congress, we need your stories and perspectives about how safety net programs and more specifically, Needs Navigation, have impacted you or your community. We know that real stories – *your* stories – have the power to drive change. Please join us and show Congress the impact of these programs and the consequences of budget cuts. Please share your perspective by creating a short video, sharing a photo, or leaving a written message.
Keep contacting your legislators! Take action and write to your lawmakers to urge them to protect safety net program for patients and families.

Anita Reynolds is the Manager of Grassroots Advocacy and Community Partnerships at NPAF.