As of April 1, additional savings may be available for new and current consumers who purchase health insurance on HealthCare.gov following passage of the American Rescue Plan. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also extended access to the Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for the federally funded health insurance marketplace until August 15, to provide additional time for consumers to enroll or make changes to their coverage with the tax credits that became available April 1.
To take advantage of the SEP, current enrollees can review their application, make any needed changes to their information, and resubmit their application to receive an updated eligibility result. Consumers who are eligible and enroll under the SEP will be able to select a plan with coverage that could start as soon as the first month after they select their plan.
In early July, consumers who have received or have been determined eligible to receive unemployment compensation for any week during 2021 may be eligible for another increase in savings when enrolling in new federal marketplace coverage or updating existing application and enrollment. These savings are in addition to the increased savings available to consumers as of April 1.
The SEP is currently available to consumers in the 36 states that use the HealthCare.gov platform. For information on the SEP in the other 14 states, visit the state’s health insurance exchange website.
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