The Biden-Harris administration has announced a 30-day extension of the upcoming open enrollment period for federal marketplace health plans available through HealthCare.gov, as well as a new monthly special enrollment period targeting people with low incomes.
This time around, open enrollment will run from Nov. 1, 2021, through Jan. 15, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced. The agency also said it’s expanding services provided by experts – known as navigators – who help consumers, particularly in underserved communities, enroll in coverage and understand their benefits and rights. Those navigators will now provide consumers with assistance on certain topics that may affect patients after they enroll, such as the appeals process for enrollment eligibility.
Marketplaces will be able to provide the new monthly special enrollment period to give certain low-income patients the chance to access coverage with low or no premiums.
“Today’s action to extend the Open Enrollment Period by a month, to continue our investment in local health care navigators, and to establish a special enrollment period for many low-income people further demonstrates our commitment to connect families to coverage,” CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a statement.
More details on the upcoming extended enrollment period, the new monthly special enrollment periods, and more can be found in a CMS Fact Sheet.
Last Updated On
September 24, 2021
Originally Published On
September 24, 2021