NJ DOBI Announces Grant Opportunity for Navigators to Assist New Jerseyans With Health Insurance Enrollment
Open Enrollment Period at Get Covered New Jersey Begins November 1, 2021
TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance today announced it is now accepting applications for community organizations to serve as Navigators to assist residents with health insurance enrollment for the upcoming Open Enrollment Period and during 2022. The department is making available a total of $4 million in grant funding for Navigators, in an effort to ensure enrollment assistance is available in the community for residents seeking coverage through Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, during the Open Enrollment Period that starts November 1, 2021 and through the year.
TRENTON – New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court decision today upholding the Affordable Care Act by a 7-2 vote:
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a victory for millions of Americans and New Jerseyans who have access to quality, affordable health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
“Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey has led the way in increasing access to health insurance based on the guiding principle that health care is a fundamental right. New Jersey launched its own state-based health insurance exchange, Get Covered New Jersey, and provided state-level subsidies to increase access and affordability of health coverage and care for our residents, and enrollment increased by nearly 10 percent during our first Open Enrollment Period. Nearly 40,000 residents have signed up for health insurance during the Special Enrollment Period opened by the state on February 1 in response to COVID-19.
Bottom Line: The case was basically thrown out for lack of standing, in a 7-2 decision, with Justice Breyer delivering the opinion of the court, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan (of course), but also Justices Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett and Thomas!
Justice Alito and Gorsuch dissented.
From the opinion itself:
Held: Plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge §5000A(a)’s minimum essential coverage provision because they have not shown a past or future injury fairly traceable to defendants’ conduct enforcing the specific statutory provision they attack as unconstitutional. Pp. 4–16.
An unsurprising but still very welcome development in the Endgame of the ongoing #TexasFoldEm #ACA lawsuit:
NEW: Biden admin tells Supreme Court that ObamaCare remains constitutional even without a tax penalty to enforce the individual mandate—a reversal from Trump admin's position
Here's the full text of the letter sent to the clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court by Deputy Solicitor General Edwin S. Kneedler. It's actually pretty cut & dry for this sort of legal document:
Back in March I noted that while the U.S. Supreme Court has indeed agreed to hear the Texas Fold'Em lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act (aka "Texas vs. Azar", aka "Texas vs. U.S.", aka "CA vs. TX") sometime this fall, the odds of actually getting a final decision in the case from SCOTUS before the November election (or even before either Trump or Biden are sworn into office in January) is extremely unlikely:
#SCOTUS grants petition filed by California & other states, as well as petition filed by Texas on whether individual mandate can be separated from rest of ACA. Argument is likely in the fall, w/decision to follow by June 2021.
Back in March I noted that while the U.S. Supreme Court has indeed agreed to hear the Texas Fold'Em lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act (aka "Texas vs. Azar", aka "Texas vs. U.S.", aka "CA vs. TX") sometime this fall, the odds of actually getting a final decision in the case from SCOTUS before the November election (or even before either Trump or Biden are sworn into office in January) is extremely unlikely:
#SCOTUS grants petition filed by California & other states, as well as petition filed by Texas on whether individual mandate can be separated from rest of ACA. Argument is likely in the fall, w/decision to follow by June 2021.
