Obamacare Enrollment Extended

Those without insurance can register from March 15—April 30

(Anson Stevens-Bollen)

By SFR

Uninsured New Mexicans who missed out on enrolling in health coverage this year are in luck.

Though the latest open enrollment period under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) ended last month, a new special enrollment period will now begin on March 15 and last through the month of April.

The decision for this "extra enrollment" period comes from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

"I think they were beginning to realize that many people are still not aware of health option changes and still certainly not aware of the penalty changes," says Barbara Webber, executive director of Health Action New Mexico.

The ACA imposes penalties on people who don't have insurance and don't qualify for subsidies. For 2015, that penalty jumps from $95 per adult to $325 per adult and is imposed during taxes for 2016. But uninsured people who didn't register for coverage are eligible to sign up during the extra enrollment period at BeWellNm.com, the website of the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange.

And if uninsured people register for coverage during the extra enrollment period, they can get out of most of the fees for next year. They'll instead pay a prorated fee to cover the time they weren't enrolled in an insurance program in 2015.

Webber says that despite the health care law being in effect for nearly two years, a sizable segment of the country still isn't aware of the ACA's requirements.

"We know that, based on polling, 30 percent of people are still not aware that they have to have health insurance," she says. "It's just hard to reach everyone. Not everyone reads the papers. Like any federal program, it takes a while for people to get on board with it."

Spokeswoman Amanda Molina says the same resources that were available during the latest open enrollment period, namely staff support from enrollment counselors and certified agents, will be available during the extended period.

A total of 51,857 New Mexicans signed up through the exchange during the latest enrollment period, which occurred from Nov. 15, 2014 through Feb. 15 of this year.

Santa Fe Reporter

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