Officials scramble as deadline for Health Care Act looms
Published 1:00 pm Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Today marks the final deadline for signing up for insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act with coverage starting on Jan. 1, 2016 and state and federal officials have been making one last push to increase the number of participants.
Consumers may qualify for the ‘Special Enrollment Period‘ which allows them to enroll outside of Open Enrollment if they have certain life events, like getting married, having a baby, or losing other coverage.
Here are some important things to think about for those renewing or signing up for the first time:
- Deadlines: The deadline to sign up for coverage is Dec. 15, 2016 in order for coverage to take effect 01/01/2016. Dec. 15 is also the deadline to make any changes to existing coverage so they take effect Jan. 1, 2016. Current customers will be automatically renewed Jan. 1, 2016 if they decide not to make changes, but may save money now by shopping for a plan with lower premiums.
The final deadline for new sign-ups and plan switches is Jan. 31, 2016. However consumers may enroll after the deadline if they have certain life events such as, a marriage, a baby, or loosing other coverage. People who still aren’t insured after Jan. 31 risk fines when they file their 2016 taxes.
- Fines: The fines have drastically increased for people who aren’t insured in 2016. A study from the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the average tax penalty will rise to $969 per household, or close to 50 percent. The fines are used as a tactic to get people insured.
Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Foundation, says the health law’s insurance markets appear to be making progress. But they’re not there yet.
“It’s going to take more people enrolled to be fully successful,” Altman said.
