NOTE: Since June 2019, I’ve been contracted to do occasional healthcare data analysis & advocacy for the Center for American Progress.
I’m not gonna get into a pie fight over whether the ACA Sux or Rox, or about whether we should go with M4All or a Public Option. What I am gonna say is this:
In response to the flood of complaints about technical problems at HealthCare.Gov yesterday, moments ago CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced that 2020 Open Enrollment Period will indeed be extended by an extra three days. The NEW deadline is now 3am on Wednesday, December 18th. #GetCovered at HealthCare.Gov today!
Technically speaking, this is only a 36 hour extension, since it didn’t kick off until 3pm Eastern, but whatever; I’ll take it.
This is among the very few times I've sincerely retweeted Seema Verma with no snark. It was the right thing to do, and I thank her for doing so.
As for the 13 states which operate their own ACA enrollment websites, ten of them (9 + DC) also have deadlines later than yesterday, including two of the biggest ones. Combined, they represent over 90 million people, or over 27% of the entire U.S. population:
- Colorado: Enroll via C4HCO.com
- Enroll by January 15 for coverage starting February 1st
- They've also noted that if you enroll online and call them at 855-752-6749 by 8pm TODAY, you can request that your policy coverage start in January instead of February.
- New York: Enroll via NYStateofHealth.NY.gov
- Enroll by January 15th for coverage starting February 1st
- Enroll between January 16th - 31st for coverage starting March 1st
In addition:
If you still missed the deadline, you won't be eligible to enroll for ACA-compliant major medical coverage for the rest of the year unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) due to a qualify life event like getting married/divorced, moving, giving birth/adopting a child, turning 26, becoming ineligible for Medicaid or losing your employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.
Note: There's a ton of junk plans and scam artists out there, especially these days. Fraudulent plans are being hawked endlessly via both robocalls, spam emails and fly-by-night websites. If you're enrolling online, make sure to use one of the official ACA exchange websites listed above.
You can also enroll in ACA-compliant policies directly via the insurance carrier's website as well, but the only way to be eligible for ACA tax credits is if you enroll on-exchange.
I’m also gonna let folks know that up to 4.7 million uninsured Americans qualify for FREE Bronze plans nationally:
While the percent of the population without health coverage has decreased since the major coverage expansion in the ACA, at least 10% of the non-elderly population is still uninsured. This analysis looks at how many of the remaining uninsured are eligible for premium subsidies large enough to cover the entire cost of a bronze plan, which is the minimum level of coverage available on the Marketplaces.
...In this analysis, we focus specifically on the approximately 16.7 million uninsured people who could be shopping on the Marketplace, regardless of whether or not they are eligible for a subsidy.
...We estimate that 28% of uninsured individuals who could shop on the Marketplace, or 4.7 million people nationwide, are eligible to purchase a bronze plan with $0 premiums after subsidies in 2020.
...As shown on the map and table below, the availability of free bronze plans varies widely between states. More than half of the uninsured who could get a free bronze plan live in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, or Georgia. Other states with large shares of uninsured residents who could sign up for a no-premium bronze plan include Iowa (59%), Alaska (45%), Wyoming (44%), Idaho (41%), and South Dakota (41%).
Finally, I’m gonna remind CALIFORNIA residents that nearly half a million enrollees are receiving California’s expanded & enhanced subsidies already, and hundreds of thousands more middle-class residents now qualify for subsidies as well even if they didn’t in prior years:
- With a key open-enrollment deadline coming up, Covered California announced that 486,000 people will receive new state subsidies that will make quality health care coverage more affordable in 2020.
- In addition, more than 130,000 people have newly selected a plan during this year’s open-enrollment period — up 16 percent over last year.
- Covered California is the only place where people can see if they qualify for federal tax credits and new state subsidies to lower the cost of their coverage.
- Consumers must sign up by Dec. 15 to have health care coverage starting on Jan. 1.
- Covered California is working with the Franchise Tax Board to make sure Californians know that they may have to pay a penalty in 2020 if they can afford insurance but choose to go without coverage.
A LOT MORE CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS IN PARTICULAR MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR SUBSIDIES THIS YEAR!
Again: The ACA's subsidy formula cuts off all financial aid to anyone earning more than 400% FPL (roughly $50,000 for a single person or $103,000 for a family of four). Starting this year, however, California is offering additional subsidies to those already eligible...as well as expanding subsidies to ACA enrollees who earn between 400-600% FPL. Not everyone in that range will qualify, and the subsidies won't be that generous for all of those who do...but enrollees earning 400-450% should see substantial savings.
WHATEVER YOU DO, *DON'T* ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE *PASSIVELY* AUTORENEWED!
Again, the plans, pricing and tax credits you may be eligible for can change dramatically from year to year even if nothing significant changed at your end (income, household size, etc).
That means that anyone who doesn't log into their account at HealthCare.Gov, CoveredCA.com, etc. enter their current information and actively pick the plan they want next year could end up missing out on hundreds or thousands of dollars in financial help, a better-value plan, or both.
Therefore, I'll say it again: SHOP AROUND!