Biden Extends Healthcare Coverage for 15 Million Low-Income Americans Until Nov. 30 — Do You Qualify?
Written by
Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
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President Joe Biden’s administration announced it would extend the temporary special enrollment period (SEP) to help people who are no longer eligible for Medicaid or CHIP transition to marketplace coverage in states using HealthCare.gov, according to a statement.
The period is now extended to Nov. 30, from the original July 31 deadline.
In January 2023, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) had announced a temporary marketplace SEP for qualified individuals and their families losing Medicaid or CHIP coverage due to the end of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition, also known as “unwinding.”
“The actions we are announcing today, like those we have taken over the past year, demonstrate that HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] is committed to ensuring Medicaid and CHIP coverage for all who are eligible. We are helping those who will now qualify for Marketplace coverage obtain it,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in the announcement. “We encourage states to use all the strategies and resources we have provided them to carry out renewals of coverage. We will continue to monitor the renewal process and make sure federal requirements are being followed.”
As Politico reported, the move aims to minimize the number of people losing health insurance coverage in the run-up to the November election because of a nationwide purge of state Medicaid rolls.
“The mass disenrollments are happening for the first time since the pandemic, prompted by the expiration last April of a Covid-era policy meant to prevent vulnerable people from losing coverage amid the health crisis,” according to Politico. More than 19 million people have since been kicked out of the Medicaid program to date, exceeding the administration’s original projections that about 15 million would lose coverage overall.
Are You Eligible?
Between March 31, 2023 and Nov, 30, 2024, marketplace-eligible consumers who are disenrolled from Medicaid, CHIP, or, if applicable, Basic Health Program (BHP) coverage can select a plan under the SEP by submitting or updating an application through HealthCare.gov, according to the HHS.
Consumers who are determined eligible for this SEP will have 60 days from the date on which they submit a new or updated HealthCare.gov, to make a plan selection, the department added.
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