Special Enrollment Periods Available for 2017 Marketplace Coverage
As a result of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will make available special enrollment periods for certain individuals seeking health plans offered through the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace (Exchange). In general, these special enrollment periods are available to residents of Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas.
Special Enrollment Period Details
The special enrollment periods created by CMS will allow individuals impacted by the storms to select a new 2017 Marketplace plan or make changes to their existing 2017 plan at any time through December 31, 2017. Specifically, there will be special enrollment periods for individuals who:
- Experienced a special enrollment period qualifying event between 60 days prior to the start date of the incident designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and December 31, 2017, but were unable to complete the application, plan selection, and enrollment process due to a hurricane-related weather event in 2017; or
- Reside in or move from areas affected by a hurricane in 2017.
These special enrollment opportunities are in addition to the annual open enrollment period this fall and any other enrollment period for which the individual may be eligible.
Additional details on these special enrollment periods can be found here.