For people who have been without health insurance during the pandemic, relief may be in sight. President Biden signed an executive order this past January to open up the federal health insurance marketplace for three months so uninsured people can buy a plan and those with plans can make changes.
Since 2016 the number of Americans without health insurance has reached 30 million by 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic has made a bad situation even worse with millions losing their jobs and the insurance coverage that comes with it.
Typically the enrollment period runs from November thru early December. If one needed to get coverage outside of that window of time, they had to have a life-changing event, such as the birth of a child or loss of coverage from an employer. These changes would trigger a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).
The new enrollment period started on February 15 and continues for three months, much longer than usual enrollment periods. With that the Biden administration plans to run an outreach campaign with paid advertising and direct-to-consumer marketing in hopes of attracting new people to the insurance pool.
The enrollment window for people in states that use the federal marketplace is open to anyone who is uninsured and would normally be eligible to buy coverage on the exchange. Those with incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level (about $51,500 for one person or $106,000 for a family of four) are eligible for premium tax credits that can substantially reduce their costs.
With the new special enrollment period, how long someone has been uninsured isn't relevant, nor do people have to provide documentation that they have lost their coverage through work.
For those who already have a marketplace plan but want to change to a different plan, this is a great opportunity to do so. Otherwise they would have to wait until the end of the year. Also, now is a great time to update information regarding job status and income as well.
Healthcare.gov has become easier to manage for the consumer in the last few years when it comes to making changes or looking for forms. Especially now that we are in tax season, many people will need their 1095-A form.
At Surf Financial we have made getting health insurance easy to apply for our friends in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia*. By going through our portal to the Health Sherpa system they can see rates and compare them easily.
An interesting wrinkle of late in all of that some of the "Blues" (Blue Cross and Blue Choice) have decided to send letters out indicating that there would be some pretty hefty rate increases starting April 1. From the letters I've seen the clients are going to be subject to increases of around 19%. In my estimation I think the insurance companies are using the SEP as a reason to increase their prices now instead of waiting for the end of the year.
If you do not currently have health insurance and need some, check out the portal above and you can start shopping for insurance. And if you already have coverage but are interested in changing, you can do the same. And if you have questions, drop us a note. In the meantime, please stay healthy!
*Those are the states we are licensed in currently.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!
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