Biden: 1M Sign Up For Health Insurance During Obamacare Special Enrollment Period
© The Associated Press The Associated PressA million people signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act in less than three months since the Biden administration reopened enrollment, the White House said Tuesday, adding that the numbers reinforce the need to further expand the health care law.
"That's one million more Americans who now have the peace of mind that comes from having health insurance. One million more Americans who don't have to lie awake at night worrying about what happens if they or one of their family members gets sick," President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Biden in January signed an executive order opening a special enrollment period for the federal insurance marketplace. The order allowed people to sign up or change their health insurance plan outside of the annual open enrollment period or a qualifying life change in the 36 states that use the marketplace.
The enrollment period remains open until Aug. 15. In his statement, Biden praised the latest COVID-19 relief package signed earlier this year that also subsidized health insurance premiums for low-income people through the marketplace for two years. Biden further called on Congress to take up his American Families Plan, a sweeping economic plan that would make the premium reduction permanent.
"Today's milestone demonstrates that there is a need and a demand for high quality, affordable health insurance across this country. It is up to Congress to hear them, and act quickly to pass the American Families Plan," Biden said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra echoed that sentiment.
"Now, it's time for Congress to build on this progress with the American Families Plan, which would lower health care costs for families and make premium relief permanent. In addition, four million uninsured Americans could gain health coverage," Becerra said in a statement.
Copyright 2021 U.S. News & World Report
Liz Weston: Here Is Who’s Eligible For Free Or Lower Cost Health Insurance Through COVID-19 Relief
The latest coronavirus relief package did more than dole out $1,400 checks. The law also made health insurance free for millions more people and reduced costs for others, at least for now.
The American Rescue Plan , which President Joe Biden signed in March, expanded subsidies for people buying their own insurance on Affordable Care Act exchanges. In addition, anyone who receives unemployment benefits this year can qualify for zero-premium health insurance through the exchanges, regardless of income.
In fact, many people who are currently uninsured will qualify for free or low-cost coverage through the exchanges or Medicaid, says Daniel McDermott, a policy analyst with KFF, the nonpartisan health care think tank formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.
People who lost their jobs but want to keep their former employer’s health insurance also may get help. If you don’t qualify for group health insurance elsewhere, the federal government will pay your COBRA premiums for up to six months.
MILLIONS QUALIFY FOR FREE ACA COVERAGE
Since 2013, ACA exchanges have allowed people to buy individual and family health insurance policies, usually with tax credits that reduced their premiums and other costs. ACA has four levels: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Bronze plans typically have the lowest monthly premiums and the highest deductibles; platinum plans have the highest premiums and the lowest deductibles.
Before the new relief package, people with incomes greater than 400% of the federal poverty level typically didn’t qualify for subsidies to reduce their premiums. Now people with incomes up to 600% of the poverty level — up to $76,560 for a single person or $157,200 for a family of four — can qualify, according to KFF. (KFF’s calculator can show you how much you’d likely pay for ACA coverage.)
The relief package reduced premiums for the vast majority of people who buy their own insurance, McDermott says. In addition, nearly half of the 29 million currently uninsured now qualify for a free plan, he says.
Those with incomes below 250% of the poverty line also will benefit from reduced cost-sharing, which means lower deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. At 150% of the poverty line — income of about $19,000 for a single person and just under $40,000 for a family of four — people qualify for zero-premium silver plans with annual deductibles of just $177 .
Millions of unemployed people will be eligible for similar coverage. Anyone who receives unemployment benefits for any part of 2021 can qualify for a zero-premium silver plan with the maximum cost-sharing reductions, McDermott says. “For all intents and purposes, the health insurance exchanges are going to look at you as if your income was under 150%” of poverty level, he says.
HOW TO QUALIFY FOR ACA SUBSIDIES
The expansion of Affordable Care Act subsidies is retroactive to Jan. 1 and will continue through Dec. 31, 2022. People must purchase their insurance from Healthcare.Gov or their state’s ACA exchange to qualify for subsidies. The act also created a new special enrollment period that extends through Aug . 15, 2021.
Some people still don’t qualify for subsidies, including most people with incomes above 600% of the poverty line; undocumented immigrants; people who have offers of employer-provided health insurance that’s considered affordable; and certain low-income people in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid coverage.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FREE COBRA COVERAGE
Many people prefer to keep their employer’s health insurance coverage when they lose their jobs, although the cost is often prohibitive. Most employers pay a large portion of the cost to cover workers, but former employees who opt to extend their coverage using the federal COBRA law typically must pay the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee.
Thanks to the new law, employers are required to provide free COBRA coverage from April 1 through Sept. 30 to eligible former employees who lost their health care coverage because of involuntary termination or a reduction in hours, says financial planner and certified public accountant Kelley Long , consumer financial education advocate for the American Institute of CPAs. The employers’ cost will be offset by federal tax credits.
If you’re eligible for other group health coverage — through a spouse, new employer or Medicare, for example — you won’t qualify for free COBRA.
“The intention is to help people who have no other options and would otherwise be uninsured because they can’t afford COBRA,” Long says.
Normally you have 60 days after you lose your job to opt for COBRA coverage, which typically lasts a total of 18 months. If you missed that 60-day window, or signed up but then dropped coverage, you may have another opportunity to enroll. The new law extends the sign-up period so that people who lost their jobs during the pandemic can get the free coverage. Employers are required to reach out to eligible former employees by May 31 . If you think you’re eligible but you haven’t heard from your employer, McDermott recommends contacting your former employer’s human resources department.
There will be a special enrollment window at the end of September to allow people with COBRA to switch to an ACA plan, McDermott says.
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified financial planner and author of “Your Credit Score.” Email: lweston@nerdwallet.Com. Twitter: @lizweston.
RELATED LINKS:
KFF: Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator https://www.Kff.Org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/
NerdWallet: A Guide to Coronavirus Unemployment Benefits http://bit.Ly/nerdwallet-unemployment-covid
Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
1 Million People Sign Up For Health Care During Special Enrollment
Biden reopened the HealthCare.Gov insurance markets in February for the special sign-up opportunity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that 1 million Americans had signed up for health insurance under “Obamacare” during a special enrollment period for those needing coverage during the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden reopened the HealthCare.Gov insurance markets in February for a special six-month sign-up opportunity that will go through Aug. 15. His coronavirus relief package also boosted taxpayer subsidies, making the coverage a much better deal for new and current customers.
“Health care is a right, not a privilege — and ensuring that every single American has access to the quality, affordable health care they need is a national imperative,” he said in a statement.
Biden has promised to build on President Barack Obama's Affordable Health Care Act to push the U.S. Toward coverage for all. He said the law known as “Obamacare” has been “a lifeline for millions of Americans” since it became law more than a decade ago.
Biden said the U.S. Had made “enormous progress" in expanding access to health insurance through this special enrollment period.
However, the 1 million figure announced Tuesday by the White House also includes people who would have otherwise qualified for a sign-up opportunity, even without Biden's special enrollment period.
A life change such as losing workplace coverage or getting married is considered a “qualifying life event” that allows people to sign up any time during the year. Last year about 390,000 people signed up because of life changes from Feb. 15-Apr. 30, the government said, and in 2019 it was more than 260,000.
So the net number of new customers who could not have enrolled this year but for Biden's action is likely lower than 1 million.
The number of uninsured Americans has risen because of job losses due to the economic hit of the coronavirus, but last year President Donald Trump's administration resisted calls to authorize a special enrollment period for people uninsured in the pandemic.
Failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as Trump, a Republican, repeatedly vowed to do, was one of the former president's most bitter disappointments. His administration continued trying to find ways to limit the program or unravel it.
A Supreme Court decision on Trump’s final legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act is expected this year.
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