Obama Administration To Limit Special Enrollments.

Bloomberg News Share to (1/19, Spalding) reports that the Obama Administration “will limit a process that allowed people to sign up for health insurance under Obamacare outside of the normal enrollment period, after health insurers complained that the special sign-up windows were letting people into the program only when they got sick.” According to the article, the government “closed down sign-ups for six circumstances,” including for people who are already eligible or enrolled in health coverage after leaving a job. Federal officials are “also tightening an exception that let people sign-up when they moved, by clarifying that people can’t get coverage based on a short-term or temporary relocation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a blog post on Tuesday.” Bloomberg says the move is meant to address insurers’ concerns about the special enrollment process.
USA Today Share to (1/19, O’Donnell) explains that health insurers complained “that it was too easy for people to wait until they were sick to sign up and to drop coverage after they got treatment.” HealthCare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan said in a blog post that the state and Federal exchanges “must be attractive for insurance companies that offer plans on it.”
The New York Times Share to (1/19, Pear, Subscription Publication) reports that most of the special enrollment periods “will still be available, for example, when people marry, have a baby, lose job-based coverage or become ineligible for coverage under a parent’s health plan at the age of 26.”
The Hill Share to (1/19, Ferris) reports that Clare Krusing, a spokeswoman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, said in a statement, “While this is an important first step, more needs to be done to validate special enrollment requests. It’s critical that there is a process in place to avoid potential abuse of special enrollment periods in order to ensure a stable, affordable market for consumers.”
Modern Healthcare Share to (1/19, Subscription Publication) also reports the story.