Here are people with health care problems that prevented them from obtaining health insurance before Obamacare. Some were in state high risk pools where the cost of coverage was astronomical. Since Obamacare they were in the temporary federal pool. They, like everyone else, had the stated enrollment period to pick a new plan through an exchange and with possible tax subsidies. Apparently many people have done nothing so now yet another extension. This time with a retroactive effective date.
Who do you think will pick of the cost of all this? It is taxpayers and other people paying premiums in plans eventually selected by these individuals. Of course they need coverage, yes, left on their own it is unaffordable, but don’t they also need to be a bit responsible and take the appropriate action at the required time?
Just do not lose sight of the fact that all this “affordability” will come together in the premiums everyone pays in 2015 or 2016 and beyond. 2015 like 2014 will require a great deal of guessing when insurers set premiums, but eventually the bill will come due.
Consumers In Federal High-Risk Pools Get Special Enrollment Option For Marketplace
Participants in the federal high-risk health insurance pool who haven’t yet signed up for other coverage can qualify for a 60-day special enrollment period that begins May 1, the Obama administration announced late Thursday.
In a notice posted on the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan website, officials said that participants in the high-risk program who have not yet purchased coverage through the health law’s online marketplaces, or exchanges, can qualify for the new enrollment period. These people have until June 30 to pick a plan through the federal exchange, healthcare.gov, or their state marketplace, if their state runs one. No matter when they enroll in that time frame, benefits will be effective back to May 1, officials said. State-based marketplaces are adopting a similar special enrollment period.
On three separate occasions, administration officials have extended the enrollment deadline for the program, known as PCIP, which is now set to close April 30.
PCIP, which was started by the health law in 2010, has helped people with pre-existing conditions obtain health coverage. These consumers in the past were often turned away by commercial insurers. The program is now being discontinued because under health law rules that went into effect Jan. 1, insurers can no longer deny coverage based on an individual’s medical record.
This is not the first time that the administration has extended enrollment deadlines. As the March 31 end to the open enrollment for the marketplaces loomed, officials also established special enrollment periods that gave people who experienced technical difficulties with healthcare.gov additional time to sign up for coverage. That ended April 15 for the federal marketplace.
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