SBM DEADLINES FOR COVID SEP
Previously, we reported that all of the states who have their own state-based marketplace (SBM) were following the federal government’s lead in offering a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for COVID. Last month, HHS indicated that they were going to be extending the COVID SEP through August 15, 2021. Many of the SBMs have now also extended their COVID SEP. For a list of all the current deadlines for the SBMs, check out our new blog post.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) had many provisions which affected access to health insurance and Medicaid. Many of these changes reflect the amount of financial assistance available to consumers who purchase insurance through the ACA marketplace. You can find links to new resources from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) in our news item.
Another change as a result of ARPA deals with individuals who received excess premium tax credits for 2020. The IRS recently released guidance for these consumers based on the changes in the new law.
For another summary on the reconciliation of premium tax credits and the COBRA subsidies, check out the blog post from Health Affairs.
Another recent resource on ARPA and its effects on access to health insurance coverage is an issue brief from Families USA.
For more information about the COVID SEP or the effect of ARPA on the ACA marketplaces, check out our other NDNRC posts from the past few months:
- Blog post (2/19/21): How is the COVID SEP Different?
- News item (4/8/21): Health Insurance Enrollment Is Up
- News item (4/1/21): Higher Tax Subsidies Available Today
- News item (3/25/21): COVID SEP Webinar Archived
- News item (3/23/21): COVID SEP Extended!
- News item (3/15/21): CMS Releases Fact Sheet on ARPA and the ACA Marketplace
- News item (3/11/21): Updated Subsidy Calculator to Reflect New Law
- News item (2/15/21): COVID SEP Begins Today!
In an effort to highlight the COVID SEP, AAHD has a project with Community Catalyst and other partners in conducting outreach to educate individuals about health insurance enrollment through the ACA Marketplace and Medicaid. This outreach includes graphics like the one below which highlight the opportunity to enroll due to COVID. These graphics are available in the Community Catalyst Outreach Hub. You can also check out the social media toolkit Community Catalyst created for the COVID SEP.
Young Invincibles has released a new series of graphics highlighting the affordability of health insurance plans during the COVID SEP, including some state specific graphics for those doing outreach in California, Colorado, Illinois, New York & Texas. These graphics can be downloaded from their online drive.
Could consumers that you provide assistance to be receiving a refund from their insurance company? Possibly, YES! The ACA requires health insurance companies to issue rebates to consumers if they do not spend a certain percentage of premiums on actual medical expenses. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that for the 2020 plan year, over 5 million consumers enrolled in individual coverage through the ACA marketplace will be eligible for rebates averaging approximately $300 per member. You can read more in Kaiser’s data note.
Last week we highlighted a blog post from the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) on the No Surprises Act and what states were doing with balance billing. This week, CHIR has a new blog post which examines what will happen to state laws now that the No Surprises Act has been passed at the federal level.
Archives of our weekly updates are available on the NDNRC website.