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| FILE - This March 31, 2014 file photo shows applicants waiting to be called during a health care enrollment event at the Bay Area Rescue Mission in Richmond, Calif. It’s not too late to get covered. A few routes remain open for those who missed the health care law’s big enrollment deadline. Millions may be eligible for a second chance to sign up for subsidized insurance. And people who get coverage after the deadline can still avoid, or at least reduce, the fine for going uninsured. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- It's not too late to get covered. A few routes remain open for
those who missed the health care law's big enrollment deadline.
Millions
may be eligible for a second chance to sign up for subsidized insurance
this year. And people who get coverage after the deadline can still
avoid, or at least reduce, the fine for going uninsured.
Here are five options for those still without insurance:
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1. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE GRACE PERIOD
This
special break was created for anyone who began enrolling in an
insurance marketplace by Monday's deadline but didn't finish. That
includes people stymied by website outages or overwhelmed phone lines,
missing information on applications, and other problems or confusion.
Those
who started an application on HealthCare.gov by March 31 should log on
and finish it as soon as possible. Federal officials say they will take
what time is necessary to work through cases pending.
People
applying online will have until April 15 to finish, administration
spokesman Aaron Albright said Tuesday. Paper applications will be
accepted until April 7.
Consumers will have to attest that they had tried to enroll by March 31.
Rules vary in the 14 states running their own insurance marketplaces.
For
most people, going through a marketplace opens the door to lower costs.
Those who use the grace period will get coverage starting May 1 and
won't owe a fine.
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2. USE A SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD
The
government also is offering special extensions for a host of problems
that might have prevented people from signing up through a marketplace:
Natural disasters. Domestic abuse. A serious illness. Mistakes by
application counselors. Errors by insurance companies.
To
seek a "special enrollment period," contact the federal call center, at
1-800-318-2596, or your state marketplace and explain what went wrong.
It's on the honor system. If the extension is approved, that brings
another 60 days to enroll.
Also, at any time
during the year, certain life events - such as changing jobs, getting
married or divorced, or becoming a parent - open a 60-day window to sign
up for marketplace coverage.
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3. SIGN UP FOR MEDICAID
Those
who qualify can still enroll in Medicaid - there's no deadline.
Eligibility is based on income and varies from state to state. About
half the states expanded their Medicaid programs. The main beneficiaries
of the change are adults earning up to about $16,100 per year, with no
children living at home. Previously, Medicaid was limited mostly to
poor children and their parents and people with disabilities.
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4. BUY INSURANCE OUTSIDE THE MARKETPLACES
Buyers
can always go directly to an insurance company, but it may be
expensive. Plans bought outside the marketplaces don't come with
government subsidies that hold down the cost for people with low or
mid-level incomes. But they do include the law's consumer protections.
For example, insurers can't turn down customers because of pre-existing
medical conditions.
Even after the deadline,
buying a plan that meets the law's essential coverage standard reduces
the penalty owed, which is based on the number of months without
coverage.
The fine for going uninsured all
year is the greater of two formulas: about 1 percent of household income
above the tax-filing threshold of $10,150 or $95 per adult and $47.50
per child under 18, up to $285 per family. It's due to the IRS in April
2015.
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5. GET READY FOR NEXT TIME
Open
enrollment for 2015 is coming later this year. It's scheduled to begin
Nov. 15 and run just three months. That's another chance to get covered
or switch into a plan with subsidies.
Supporters of the law are calling on President Barack Obama to make things easier next time around.
The
advocacy group Families USA suggested a bunch of improvements Tuesday,
including more face-to-face sign-ups, coordinating enrollment with
tax-filing season so people better understand the fines, and improving
coordination with Medicaid programs.
Something to think about: The uninsured penalty next year rises to 2 percent of income or $325 per adult and $162.50 per child.
