The Biden administration proposed some major changes to the Affordable Care Act market, including extending the registration period by 30 days in 2022 and beyond.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services stated in a fact sheet released on Monday that the extension will give consumers more time to review plan choices, seek face-to-face help, and join the plan that best meets their needs. Describes the proposed terms.
If finalized, the new annual open registration period for all personal market exchanges and over-the-counter personal market plans will be changed from November 1 to January. 15.
Another provision included in the proposed rule would allow the exchange to create a special monthly registration period for consumers whose household income is less than 150% of the federal poverty level.
In his first act as president, Joe Biden signed an executive order, namely Set up a special registration period From February 15th to May 15th.At that time, 1.2 million Americans Sign up for insurance Through HealthCare.gov.
CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said: “The success of the special registration period opportunity clearly demonstrates the need for high-quality, affordable insurance. In the press release“These latest measures are designed to better fund outreach efforts and remove coverage barriers. We are making high-quality, low-cost coverage more accessible than ever before.”
Biden’s CMS also proposes to expand the role of exchange navigators working with disadvantaged and underserved people to help them find affordable insurance.
The Trump administration has dealt a huge blow to the Navigator program, Cut funds In 2016, it increased from 63 million U.S. dollars to 10 million U.S. dollars in 2018. However, in April, CMS Announce them $80 million will be provided to ACA navigators in the 2022 plan year.
Now, CMS hopes to restore the previous requirement that navigators provide consumers with information and assistance on post-registration topics, such as the eligibility appeal process and the exchange-related components of the premium tax credit reconciliation process.
But in order to address the increase in navigation funding and support further consumer outreach, user fees for federally promoted exchanges will be raised from 2.25% of premiums to 2.75%. For state-based exchanges on federal platforms, user fees will jump from 1.75% of premiums to 2.25%.
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