The coronavirus (COVID-19) national emergency has presented exceptional challenges for the American public. Millions of Americans are facing uncertainty and millions of Americans are experiencing new health problems during this pandemic. Due to the exceptional circumstances and rapidly changing Public Health Emergency (PHE) impacting millions of people throughout the US every day, many Americans remain uninsured or underinsured and still need affordable insurance health coverage.
In agreement with the Executive Order issued yesterday by President Biden, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS plans to reopen the federal-run insurance website Healthcare.gov to aid millions of Americans with a special enrollment period. Yesterday, Biden announced, he will launch an ACA Special Enrollment Period, starting Feb. 15, 2021, through August 15, 2021, lasting three months.
Starting on February 15, 2021, and continuing through May 15, 2021, Marketplaces using the HealthCare.gov platform will put into operation functionality to make a SEP available to all Marketplace-eligible consumers who are submitting a new application or updating an existing application.
Starting February 15, consumers seeking to take advantage of this SEP can find out if they are eligible by visiting HealthCare.gov or speaking with their local Houston agent. Consumers who are eligible and enroll under this SEP will be able to select a plan with coverage that starts the first of the month after plan selection. Consumers will have 30 days after they submit their application to choose a plan. Current enrollees will be able to change or enroll into any available plan in their area without restriction to the same level of coverage as their current plan.
This SEP opportunity will not involve any new application questions or require consumers or enrollment partners to provide any new information not otherwise required to determine eligibility and enroll in coverage. In addition, consumers won’t need to provide any documentation of a qualifying event (e.g., loss of a job or birth of a child), which is typically required for SEP eligibility.
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Information provided by The Washington Post & CMS.GOV/Newsroom