TIS THE SEASON FOR SEPs (AGAIN)

Yesterday the tax penalty special enrollment period (SEP) came to a close and it’s time to consider what SEPs might be available to consumers now that the quasi-open enrollment has closed. Previously, we had a news item on a report that showed how some of the state-based marketplaces did with SEPs and today, we published a blog post which goes over several resources available on SEPs. The news item about the Urban Institute report can be accessed here and today’s blog post can be accessed by clicking here. You can also check out last week’s news item on the close of the tax penalty SEP which has a link to a helpful SEP screener on Healthcare.gov. To access that news item, click here.

Do you wonder about the difference in enrollment numbers between different states? Health Affairs posted a blog article which examines this and some of the possible causes. To read our news item on the Health Affairs blog, click here.

A few weeks ago, we posted a news item on a report on mental health parity that was released by NAMI (that article can be accessed here). We at AAHD have published some news items on mental health parity on our AAHD site. The links to these news items can all be accessed in this NDNRC news item.

In case you missed it, last week we had a blog post on the roles agents and brokers play in the marketplace. We asked people what they had heard about agents and brokers helping consumers enroll, especially those with disabilities and then summarized the responses in a blog post. The blog post can be accessed by clicking here. We are still looking for those who’ve had an experience with an agent or broker in the marketplace, so if you’re willing to share them with us, you can go to the blog and find a link for you to submit those comments.

As you probably know, the CMS Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for navigators is out. There is a webinar on the FOA applications this coming week on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 from 4:00-5:30 PM ET. To register for this webinar, click here. A reminder that the deadline for applications is June 15, 2015. To read our news item on the FOA, click 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.

Weekly updates are now archived on the NDNRC site. All Weekly Updates since October 3, 2014 can be accessed by clicking here.