NBNA Shares - No Fooling: 30 Days Left in ACA Special Enrollment Period

Press release
April 1, 2015

No Fooling: April 1 Means Just 30 Days Left in ACA Special Enrollment Period

Still Time to Sign Up For Health Insurance and Avoid Fee for 2015

Washington, D.C.—A Special Enrollment Period (SEP), enacted at the urging of Families USA and other health care advocacy groups, gives consumers who missed this year's Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment period until April 30 to purchase health insurance and avoid paying a fee for lacking coverage for the 2015 tax year.

The new SEP was deliberately designed to give consumers, who didn't realize until they filled out their 2014 tax returns that they owed a fee for being uninsured, a second chance to purchase coverage. The 2014 tax season is the first where the ACA's system of subsidies and fees is in effect.

"This is a new experience for tax filers,' said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. "This gives consumers, who may have been confused, another chance to get insurance for themselves and their families – and the peace of mind that comes with that – as well as avoiding having to pay a full-year penalty for 2015."

The original ACA open enrollment period for 2015 ran from November 15, 2014 to February 15, 2015. To qualify for this SEP, a consumer must meet the following requirements:

Are not currently enrolled in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace for 2015,
Be subject to the fee for not having health coverage for one or more months in 2014, and
Were confused or didn't know about the requirement to have health insurance.

Tax filers who did not have insurance in 2014 may still have to pay a fee if they don't qualify for exemptions. The fee starts at $95 per adult, or 1 percent of income, whichever is greater. For 2015, the fee is $325 per adult, or 2 percent of income, whichever is greater. Click here for more information about exemptions or how to sign up for health care during the SEP.

For basic questions about the ACA, visit Families USA's Enrollment Assistance Resource Center.

http://familiesusa.org/issues/affordable-care-act