2021 Health Insurance Special Enrollment Period Extended to August 15th

None of us can predict the future. Here at Details, we believe strongly in the importance of planning ahead and always being as prepared as we possibly can by setting up safety nets in our business and personal lives. This includes carrying health insurance, especially since our Founder & CEO Corrine Heck battled a brain tumor not two years ago. Luckily, she had health insurance which had made that scary and uncertain time and recovery period a little less stressful.

That’s why we felt it was necessary to share this news with our community, in case some may have missed it. With the recent executive order that passed in January, so has a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for health insurance on the Marketplace until August 15, 2021.

This SEP will allow individuals and families to apply and enroll for the coverage they need during this pandemic. Here are some key points to know about this SEP:

• This SEP is available in the 36 states served by the Marketplaces that use the HealthCare.gov platform.
• Those who are eligible can enroll or update an existing application through HealthCare.gov directly, the Marketplace call center, or direct enrollment channels.
• After enrolling under this SEP, users will have the ability to select a plan with coverage that starts the first month after the plan selection.
• Enrollees will need to go through their application and make any changes if needed to their current information and resubmit their application to receive an updated eligibility result.
• Once an application has been submitted, enrollees have 30 days to select (or change) a plan.

In an effort to make the process as simple as possible, the Marketplace will not involve any new application questions, documentation, or require any new information aside from what’s needed to determine eligibility. 

Below we have provided some resource links to help you learn more about taking advantage of this Special Enrollment Period!

Resources:

To read the executive order, visit:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/28/executive-order-on-strengthening-medicaid-and-the-affordable-care-act/

To read the HHS press release, visit:
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/01/28/hhs-announces-marketplace-special-enrollment-period-for-covid-19-public-health-emergency.html

For more information about the Health Insurance Marketplace, visit:
https://www.healthcare.gov/quick-guide/getting-marketplace-health-insurance/

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services:
https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2021-special-enrollment-period-response-covid-19-emergency