NEWS ON SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIODS
Now that open enrollment has ended, consumers who wish to obtain coverage must do so with a special enrollment period (SEP). Last week, we reported on how CMS has eliminated some SEPs for this year (that news item can be accessed by clicking here). However, CMS has also announced a new SEP for those who are ineligible for the Advanced Premium Tax Credit (APTC) in 2016 because they failed to file their 2014 tax return and reconcile their APTC for 2014. To read more about this new SEP, check out our news item which includes links to the CMS guidance and an explanatory blog by the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms. This news item can be accessed by clicking here.
Earlier we reported on states to watch in 2016 as it relates to Medicaid expansion – see our blog post here. One of the states listed was Kentucky as newly elected Governor Bevin has announced his intention to discontinue the expansion. A new issue brief from Health Affairs entitled “Kentucky’s Medicaid Expansion Showing Early Promise on Coverage and Access to Care” reviews the effect that Medicaid expansion has had in Kentucky thus far. To download a copy of this issue brief, click here. The issue brief is also available on our Kentucky state page under “State Specific Resources.”
If you were unable to attend the Families USA Health Action 2016 Conference earlier this month, they have posted all of the presentation materials from the conference on their website. These materials can be accessed here.
Many people deal with depression and another project we at AAHD are involved in is with the University of Washington Healthy Aging Rehabilitation and Research Training Center (RRTC). They have just released a new fact sheet in their Aging Well with a Physical Disability series entitled “How to Cope with Depression” and it can be accessed by clicking here.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the three reports released by the National Council on Disability (NCD) on the ACA and disability. These reports can be downloaded as follows:
- Implementing the Affordable Care Act: A Roadmap for People with Disabilities
- The Impact of the Affordable Care Act: A 2015 Status Report
- Monitoring and Enforcing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for People with Disabilities
These reports are also available on our Resources & Links page under “Enrollment Resources – Disability Specific.”
Are you looking for local partners to help with outreach to the disability community? The NDNRC is funding eighteen Community Outreach Collaboratives (COCs) for the year three of our project. This includes the eleven that were funded last year, plus seven new locations in six new states. 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.
To access the archives for our weekly updates click here.