You’ve got time. Deadline extended to buy ACA health plan for Jan 1
December 16, 2024
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Insurance enrollment under contested Affordable Care Act underway
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Open enrollment for Americans who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act is underway despite Trump’s calls to change it.
Straight Arrow News
If you missed the deadline on Sunday to enroll in health insurance for the new year through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, you now have a few more days to do so, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid said.
People who want ACA marketplace health insurance coverage, also known as Obamacare, to begin Jan. 1 now have until midnight local time Wednesday, Dec. 18 to enroll, a CMS spokesperson said. The original deadline was Dec. 15. Marketplace consumers who enroll after the Dec. 18 extended deadline will have coverage that starts Feb. 1.
Data show the number of new enrollees, or consumers who don’t currently have health insurance through the ACA but are signing up for a 2025 plan, is down 32% from this time last year, said Noah Lang, chief executive of Stride, which helps people find health insurance. On Dec. 4, CMS said nearly 988,000 people had newly enrolled in an ACA plan.
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The enrollment extension is only the second one CMS has ever offered, he said. The first time was in 2016.
“This extra three days gives people time to shop,” he said. “Millions (of people) are still not insured or can save money.”
Why is ACA enrollment down this year?
In early December, 55% of respondents in a Stride survey said they were concerned about how the incoming Trump administration will impact their future health insurance. Worries about how their coverage may change or costs might rise are leading some people to not enroll in the ACA marketplace, it said.
But they shouldn’t worry, Lang said.
“Plan options and prices are locked in for 2025,” he said. “Coverage won’t change, and ACA credits won’t change.”
The premium tax credit is a refundable credit that helps eligible individuals and families cover the premiums for their ACA health insurance.
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Timing may also play a role, Lang said. “It may have been the first time we had the enrollment deadline on a Sunday night,” he said. “People are spending their weekends shopping (for the holidays) and spending time with family,” not looking at health insurance.
Will these extra days make a big difference?
Updated enrollment data won’t be available until January, but “there could be a wave of people enrolling because it’s not a weekend,” Lang said.
People also are receiving notices about their insurance premiums in the new year right about now, which could spur them to look for ACA plans, Lang said.
The average premium increase is estimated around 7%, according to a report from insurance research site ValuePenguin.com.
If people are worried about long wait times with CMS to get enrolled, he said CMS has partners like Stride that can help. People can go online, enter information about prescriptions, preferred doctors and health conditions and the site can find health insurance plans that suit those needs. They can choose one and enroll on that site, he said.
Medora Lee is a money, markets and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.
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