NEW STATE ANNOUNCES TAX PENALTY SEP
As we reported last week, CMS announced a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for those who will pay the tax penalty for not having coverage in 2014 and still do not have coverage for 2015. (Click here to read the news item on this announcement.) However, since this only applies to consumers in the federally facilitated marketplaces, the NDNRC is following what the state-based marketplaces (SBMs) are doing on tax penalty SEPs. We reported last week on seven of those SBMs who were offering similar SEPs. As of the writing of this newsletter, at least one other state (Rhode Island) has announced a tax penalty SEP. Make sure to check our blog post which outlines what all the SBMs are doing. We update it regularly, so be sure you have the latest info by clicking here.
Earlier this year, we added a Population Specific Fact Sheet on Children with Special Health Care Needs (click here to access this fact sheet). If you want more information for how the ACA enrollment affects this population, we have added two fact sheets from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Catalyst Center. The first is entitled “Your Child’s Health Care and the ACA: Habilitative Services” and addresses what habilitative services are available under ACA plans. This fact sheet can be accessed by clicking here and is also available on our Resources & Links page under “Enrollment Resources – Disability Specific.”
The second fact sheet is entitled “Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicaid Coverage for Children with Disabilities” and discusses what families need to know when enrolling in a QHP through the marketplace when one of the children is covered through Medicaid. This fact sheet can be accessed by clicking here and is also available on our Resources & Links page under “Enrollment Resources – ACA Marketplace and Medicaid.”
Last month, Milliman released a report which looked at the marketplaces in the federally facilitated marketplace states and how competition in the number of carriers and plans (or lack thereof) affected plan premiums. It also looked at how the number of hospitals in a geographic area affected premiums. To read our news item on this report which includes a link to download a copy of the report, click here.
Weekly updates are now archived on the NDNRC site. All Weekly Updates since October 3, 2014 can be accessed by clicking here.
Are you looking for local partners to help with outreach to the disability community? The NDNRC has funded eleven Community Outreach Collaboratives (COCs) for the second year of enrollment. The COCs will increase collaborations in the community, dissemination and outreach efforts and enrollment of people with disabilities in the ACA. To find a COC, click here.