Eleven States Now Letting Uninsured Sign Up for Obamacare (plan, coverage, California)

[crusinsusan]

"Eleven states and the District of Columbia have opened enrollment under the Affordable Care Act to allow laid-off workers to get subsidized health insurance, and the Trump administration, which has been gunning to repeal the law, is considering opening the federal exchange to new customers.

The new enrollment periods will ease insurance sign-ups for people who have recently lost health coverage along with their jobs. And they will provide an opportunity for people who didn’t buy insurance for the year to reconsider that choice.


California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are the states that run their own exchanges that have made the move to open enrollment."



"...Peter Lee, the executive director of that state’s marketplace, Covered California, said he was doing everything he could to alert residents that they could buy insurance if they needed it now.“There’s no economic or public health rationale to not open the doors wide in the face of the pandemic,” he said...."



https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/u...&region=Footer

[reed303]

Odd....... AFAIK unemployment already qualified people for a "Special Enrollment Period"

See https://www.healthcare.gov/unemployed/
where it says:
"If you have just left your job for any reason and lost your job-based health coverage, you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. This means you can enroll in a Marketplace insurance plan any time of year. You usually have 60 days from the day you lose your coverage to enroll. Learn how to apply for a Special Enrollment Period."

[crusinsusan]

True. I think it's oddly worded...but there seems to be something about the "special enrollment" to make things quicker:

"...While it is true that people can already apply for coverage when they lose their employer-based coverage, a special enrollment period would require less paperwork and could be the quickest way for people to get coverage, said Justine Handelman, a senior vice president for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association..."

Plus, it seems the formerly uninsured can buy in now.

[ContraPagan]

I'm a NYSOH call center agent, so let me simplify this:

For New York, specifically, NYSOH instituted a Special Enrollment period exception until April 15, so even if a person wouldn't ordinarily qualify for Special Enrollment, they will by virtue of COVID-19. They can also choose whether their coverage starts on April 1 or May 1.

We also instituted an exception for people who can't get proof of income documents due to the business having closed.

[ContraPagan]

Originally Posted by reed303

Odd....... AFAIK unemployment already qualified people for a "Special Enrollment Period"

See https://www.healthcare.gov/unemployed/
where it says:
"If you have just left your job for any reason and lost your job-based health coverage, you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. This means you can enroll in a Marketplace insurance plan any time of year. You usually have 60 days from the day you lose your coverage to enroll. Learn how to apply for a Special Enrollment Period."

Not everybody has ESI. Some people I've talked to already have Marketplace Insurance, and they are trying to get cheaper coverage. NYSOH wants people to update any information on their account that can affect their coverage within 30 days of the change occurring, and that includes income and employment information.

Also a lot of people aren't going to qualify for coverage that is subject to Open Enrollment. Only Qualified Health Plans, either full pay or with a Premium Tax Credit, require Special Enrollment outside of Open Enrollment. Medicaid and Essential Plan along with Child Health Plus, the other plans we offer in NY on the Marketplace, are available 12 months out of the year, not just during Open Enrollment.