Get Covered

via the New York Dept. of Financial Services:

NY State of Health and New York State Department of Financial Services Announce Special Enrollment Period for Uninsured New Yorkers, as Novel Coronavirus Cases Climb

As I've noted before, Maryland is already offering a SEP for uninsured residents to #GetCovered when they file their state taxes by checking off a box, but today they went one step further and created an official Coronavirus SEP as well, which is open to any eligible uninsured residents whether they're utilizing the "check the box" tax form option or not:

Coronavirus emergency launches one-month special enrollment period

As part of the state’s overall response to the coronavirus, and in an effort to prioritize health and safety, Maryland Health Connection opened a new special enrollment period for uninsured Marylanders.

When will the special enrollment period begin?

  • The coronavirus emergency special enrollment period will begin Monday, March 16, and end Wednesday, April 15. Coverage will begin April 1, 2020, regardless of when a health plan is selected during that time period.

How do I enroll?

via HealthSource RI:

Special Enrollment Period (SEP) Available to Purchase Coverage through HealthSource RI as a Part of the State’s Response to COVID-19

  •     Special Enrollment Period will be available through April 15, 2020

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 14, 2020) — HealthSource RI has adopted a limited-time Special Enrollment Period (SEP), following Governor Raimondo’s State of Emergency declaration in response to the potential growth of Coronavirus (COVID-19). This SEP will allow uninsured Rhode Islanders to purchase coverage through April 15, 2020. Coverage will begin on the first of the month following the application.

Washington becomes 1st state-based marketplace to create a special enrollment opportunity in wake of coronavirus threat. https://t.co/2bYCrboXvl @GtownCHIR

— Sabrina Corlette (@SabrinaCorlette) March 10, 2020

via the Washington Health Benefit Exchange:

Washington Healthplanfinder Announces Special Enrollment Period in Response to Growing Coronavirus Outbreak

UPDATE 2/24/20: California and New York have come out with their final, official enrollment numbers, as have Vermont,Rhode Island and the District of Columbia, although the latter three are estimates on my part due to the way they're reporting their enrollment data:

This just in from DC Health Link:

DC Health Link to Offer Even More Opportunities for Residents to Get Covered 

  • DCHBX Executive Board Votes to Allow Pre-Natal Special Enrollment Period and Four Other New Opportunities

Washington, DC – With Open Enrollment recently concluded, District residents and small businesses have new opportunities to sign up for health insurance coverage through DC Health Link. The DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority (DCHBX) Executive Board recently adopted recommendations from its Standing Advisory Board to create four Special Enrollment Periods (SEP) and an extended open enrollment period for DC small businesses.

via MNsure:

Though open enrollment through MNsure has ended, there are still opportunities to enroll through a special enrollment period (SEP). Minnesotans who experience a qualifying life event, like aging off a parent's health insurance (turning 26), getting married, or losing other health coverage, may be eligible to apply. See a complete list of qualifying life events, including coverage start dates.

This is very interesting. ACA Open Enrollment deadline extensions have become kind of a running joke over the years, but for the most part they've been restricted to the December deadlines. the states with deadlines already extending into January have stuck with them for the most part...until this year.

A few days ago, New York State of Health announced that they're extending their final enrollment deadline (for March 1st coverage) by a week, until midnight on Friday, February 7th.

Late last night, the DC Health Link announced that they, too, are extending their final deadline (for March 1st coverage) by five days, until midnight on Wednesday, February 5th.

California and New York have both released updated 2020 Open Enrollment numbers, so I figured I'd update my spreadsheet one more time before the final data is released. This time I've included a smaller secondary table at the bottom which adjusts the Federal and State-based exchange numbers for Nevada.

OFFICIALLY, HealthCare.Gov enrollment is down nearly 128,000 people this year, but that's not fair because Nevada broke off of HC.gov onto their own full state-based exchange platform this year. When you adjust for that, HC.gov is only down 119,000 people for the remaining 38 states. Meanwhile, the state-based exchanges are officially down 2,900 at the moment, but again, with Nevada joining them, they're actually down around 8,900.people.

That leaves the missing enrollment data from five states. Rhode Island and Vermont haven't released any data...I'm assuming they'll both be very close to last year (call it at least 33,000 and 24,000 respectively). I'm assuming New York + DC will be good for perhaps 3,000 more enrollees combined in their final days. And California will likely tack on another 30,000 or so in their final 2 days of Open Enrollment.

This just in from the New York State of Health ACA exchange:

Press Release: New Yorkers Have More Time to Get Covered in 2020: NY State of Health Open Enrollment Deadline Extended to February 7

  • Enroll Now for Affordable, High-Quality Health Coverage in 2020
  • Free, In-Person Enrollment Help is Available: Click Here to Find a NY State of Health Certified Assistor

ALBANY, N.Y. (January 28, 2020) – NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, announced that consumers will have an additional week to enroll in a Qualified Health Plan (QHP) for 2020. The Open Enrollment deadline has been extended until February 7 to give consumers more time to enroll. NY State of Health’s Customer Service Center representatives and in-person assistors are available to help individuals find the best plan for themselves and their families.

Huh. That's unexpected.

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