Your Health Idaho launches 2025 ACA Window Shopping; Open Enrollment begins in just 4 days!

via Your Health Idaho (this is actually from Sept. 30th):

Preview Your 2025 Health Plan

There is no doubt about it—fall is here. Many of us take this time to wind down from the summer’s excitement and start preparing for the upcoming year. While it may not be the most thrilling task, health insurance is one of the most important things you can plan for every year.

Starting October 1, you can visit yourhealthidaho.org to preview 2025 health plans. During this period, you can window shop for health insurance plans without logging in to an account or filling out an application. Previewing plans can give you confidence in your future decision and the freedom to thoroughly review your options.

For 2025 coverage, there are 149 medical plans and 24 dental plans to choose from, all from 13 well-known carriers. Don’t know which plan is right for you? You can compare plans side-by-side to help you make an informed choice. If you find the perfect plan before Open Enrollment starts on October 15, all you have to do is log in to your account and add it to your cart. The selected plan will remain in the cart until you are able to purchase.

You can also visit our tax credit estimator to find out how much you can save on your monthly premium costs. In 2024, 90% of enrollees received a tax credit, and 25% pay $25 or less for their monthly premiums.

Choosing the right coverage for yourself and your family be overwhelming. That’s why we partner with certified agents and brokers, who are available to help you at no cost. To find assistance, click here.

Make sure to enroll in a plan by midnight, December 16, 2024.

Whoa...hold the phone there.

Idaho has been unique among the state-based ACA exchanges the past few years in that they've been launching their annual Open Enrollment Period more than 2 weeks earlier than everyone else (Oct. 15th instead of Nov. 1st) while also ending it a full month earlier than nearly every other state (Dec. 15th instead of Jan. 15th).

However, earlier this year the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a new rule as part of the annual NBPP which I thought was supposed to line Idaho up with the other states:

The rule also aligns the dates of Open Enrollment periods across almost all Marketplaces to generally begin on November 1 and end no earlier than January 15, with the option to extend the Open Enrollment period beyond January 15.

This one is targeting Idaho and New York: Idaho has been starting their annual Open Enrollment Period 2 weeks earlier (October 15th), which is fine...but they've also been ending it on December 15th, which isn't. Meanwhile, New York has been ending their OEP on January 31st (which is fine)...but they haven't been starting it until November 16th for some reason (which isn't).

However, it looks like I missed a key detail (which I should have noticed given the "generally" caveat above). Louise Norris caught this in her own explainer:

It’s noteworthy that CMS finalized a rule change in 2024 designed to ensure standardization of open enrollment in state-run exchanges. But there was a partial exception for Idaho in the final rule. It clarified that a state-run exchange that began its most recent open enrollment before November 1, 2023, and ended it before January 15, 2024 could continue to begin open enrollment before November 1 and end it before January 15 — but only if the open enrollment period lasts for at least 11 weeks. That rule is clarified in 45 CFR § 155.410(e)(4)(iii).

But Your Health Idaho is still planning to run an open enrollment period that lasts just under nine weeks. It’s unclear how this is in compliance with the federal rules that were finalized in 2024.

In other words, CMS grandfathered Idaho's early start date in since they had already been launching prior to 11/01 when the new rule came out...but they didn't give Idaho their blessing to keep ending it on 12/15, instead requiring them to have the deadline no earlier than New Year's Eve (it's exactly 77 days (11 weeks) from 10/15 - 12/31).

I have no idea whether Your Health Idaho will ultimately bump out their deadline to 12/31 or not, or whether CMS will enforce the rule.

In any event, Open Enrollment begins in just 4 days for Idaho residents!