President Joe Biden is expected to sign an Executive Order as soon as Thursday to reopen federal marketplaces such as healthcare.gov, where people can purchase Affordable Care Act plans.
Signing up for ACA coverage was previously restricted to a six-week period between November 1 to December 15. President Biden is also expected to lower the requirements for people to join Medicaid. The plan is to reopen the marketplace for at least a few months. This is just one of the many changes Biden is making to the American healthcare system in his first few weeks in office. At this time, it is not known whether or not Biden will repeal the work requirements in order to be eligible for Medicaid.
Biden is also planning on creating a government insurance option in addition to the Affordable Care Act plans sold by private insurance companies, and helping people below the poverty line get ACA coverage in states without Medicaid Expansion. However, these initiatives would have to be approved by congress due to the amount of money it will take in order to accomplish these goals.
Federal regulations allow people to qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) if they have extenuating circumstances that require a change in their healthcare. These circumstances include but are not limited to a natural disaster, moving, or loss of a job. During the last enrollment period, 8.3 million people signed up for health plans in the states that use HealthCare.gov to sign up for the Affordable Care Act.
Furthermore, states will be allowed to get permission from the federal government to operate their own Medicaid programs how they see fit.
Opening up the marketplace is a move to help more Americans get insured during the unprecedented COVID-19 Pandemic, as a response to millions losing jobs. This action is unlikely to be permanent and will be capped at a later date during the year. Stay tuned for more information regarding the marketplace opening by following us on Facebook at Empower Brokerage, Inc. and on Twitter at @EmpowerFMO.
Agents
We hope this information on Reopening Federal Marketplaces is helpful to you.
Empower Brokerage is dedicated to helping you educate your clients on the insurance they need and staying on top of their health. Whether it’s through webinar training, one-on-one calls, seminars, or marketing plans. We want you to be successful. Give us a call if you have any questions at 888-539-1633.
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Jeffrey is a graduate from the University of North Texas and joined the Empower Brokerage marketing team in 2020. He is the social media manager for empower brokerage, in addition to writing blogs and doing various campaigns. LinkedIn profile
