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Trump rejects Obamacare special enrollment period amid pandemic

Wraith

Wraith

Member
Jun 28, 2018
8,892
www.politico.com

Trump rejects Obamacare special enrollment period amid pandemic

President Donald Trump and administration officials recently said they were considering relaunching HealthCare.gov.
www.politico.com www.politico.com
I'm just gonna quote the entire article; it's not that long:
The Trump administration has decided against reopening Obamacare enrollment to uninsured Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, defying calls from health insurers and Democrats to create a special sign-up window amid the health crisis.

President Donald Trump and administration officials recently said they were considering relaunching HealthCare.gov, the federal enrollment site, and insurers said they privately received assurances from health officials overseeing the law's marketplace. However, a White House official on Tuesday evening told POLITICO the administration will not reopen the site for a special enrollment period, and that the administration is "exploring other options."
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Obamacare's annual enrollment period closed months ago, although people who lost jobs or experienced other life changes are already eligible for special enrollment period under the law. A more expansive special enrollment period for HealthCare.gov could have extended the opportunity for millions of more uninsured Americans to seek out coverage.

Numerous Democratic-leaning states that run their own insurance markets have already reopened enrollment in recent weeks as the coronavirus threat grew. The Trump administration oversees enrollment for about two-thirds of states.

Trump confirmed last week he was seriously considering a special enrollment period, but he also doubled down on his support of a lawsuit by Republican states that could kill the entire Affordable Care Act.
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So if you recently lost your job/got married/had a kid, you still have the opportunity to sign up. Or if you live in one of the blue states that re-opened their enrollment, you can sign up. But if you were uninsured going into this Coronavirus mess and haven't yet had a "qualifying event" in your life recently, you're on your own.

The states that re-opened their enrollment programs, from this article last week:
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • Nevada
  • New York
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Washington
Also it should be pointed out: Coronavirus testing is free, treatment is not.
 
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brawndolicious

brawndolicious

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,970
So if you're uninsured and expect a serious COVID recovery period, you should basically transfer all your assets to a family member that isn't your spouse?

Edit: To clarify, I'm not saying that medical bankruptcy is no big deal but that that's how fucked up the system is. You may see hospitals left with huge unpaid bills at the end of the year and consumers with wrecked credit scores.
 
Coyote Starrk

Coyote Starrk

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
53,497
Of course he did. If he opened up enrollment again then people might accidentally get help and Republicans can't have any of that nonsense.
 
shnurgleton

shnurgleton

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,864
Boston
this is explicitly evil, but we already knew he was

states are all alone in this crisis. texas may as well be madagascar to me in massachusetts
 

Deleted member 12790

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
24,537
thank fucking god for obamacare. This would be so much scarier right now if I had absolutely no ability to go to the doctor. Knowing I have a safety net in my back pocket - both my insurance and my credit card I devote to insurance to cover my maximum deductible if needed -- gives me some semblance of peace of mind.

This is evil.
 
HaL64

HaL64

Member
Nov 3, 2017
1,821
CitizenVectron

CitizenVectron

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,433
Okay I'm Canadian so maybe I just don't get it, but...why are there enrolment periods at all? Why can't you sign up for these plans all of the time? It makes no sense to have windows of opportunity.
 
pokeystaples

pokeystaples

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,408
brawndolicious said:
So if you're uninsured and expect a serious COVID recovery period, you should basically transfer all your assets to a family member that isn't your spouse?

Edit: To clarify, I'm not saying that medical bankruptcy is no big deal but that that's how fucked up the system is. You may see hospitals left with huge unpaid bills at the end of the year and consumers with wrecked credit scores.
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Depends on the timing of the transfer and the filing.
 
adj_noun

adj_noun

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
17,403
ultracal31

ultracal31

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,627
OP
OP
Wraith

Wraith

Member
Jun 28, 2018
8,892
CitizenVectron said:
Okay I'm Canadian so maybe I just don't get it, but...why are there enrolment periods at all? Why can't you sign up for these plans all of the time? It makes no sense to have windows of opportunity.
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(With a preface that even under the ACA, our system is still full of huge, gaping holes...) From what I can see, open enrollment period is intended to prevent people from simply forgoing insurance until they find they really need it. Or from switching between different plans at will (ex. getting a basic plan when they have few healthcare costs, then getting a better plan when they have more expenses to cover).

The program also used to have a financial penalty for those who did not carry health insurance, for these same reasons, but the Republicans got rid of that, making the penalty $0. And then since there was no actual penalty, courts decided the requirement itself was no longer valid at all.

The law still defines certain events that allow you to sign up if they occur (most importantly, if you lose your current insurance).
 
Nacho

Nacho

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,143
NYC
Oh fck, NY opened up enrollment again? thank fucking god. My insurance through there was cancelled due to some bullshit with autopay not being set up even tho I very much so set it up, but i didnt notice payments not going through until they had already cancelled it.

thank fucking god.
 
Sesha

Sesha

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,858
Repubs enacting their agenda like business as usual feels like they don't care if they lose elections or not. Then again, they're not above using fraudulent means to win.
 
kamikazety

kamikazety

Banned
Dec 5, 2018
187
I know this is a heavy left leaning forum but are you telling me its alright to not pay into health insurance but the moment something bad is happening everyone should be able to enroll? Seems like a lot of Americans chose to not keep health insurance to take a stupid risk and save money.
 
OP
OP
Wraith

Wraith

Member
Jun 28, 2018
8,892
kamikazety said:
I know this is a heavy left leaning forum but are you telling me its alright to not pay into health insurance but the moment something bad is happening everyone should be able to enroll? Seems like a lot of Americans chose to not keep health insurance to take a stupid risk and save money.
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a.) The system we have, even absent a pandemic, even prior to Republican sabotage, is flawed and we'd be much better off if everyone in this country had good health insurance, if they weren't making decisions about their health with "can I afford it?" being the driving factor.

b.) The individual mandate and associated penalty for forgoing insurance was designed to get people insured, in return for guaranteeing coverage for pre-existing conditions. The mandate got killed, and surprise surprise, more people went uninsured, health insurance premiums went up. This wasn't the way the ACA was designed. (It's not how insurance in general is supposed to work.) We'd have had far more people insured if the ACA hadn't been hacked away at for the last decade.

c.) A pandemic like this affects everyone, regardless of who made good decisions and who made bad decisions. More people insured can only help the situation, right? So fewer people are afraid to get care when they need it. Plus we have this messy system where everyone's health care options vary wildly state to state. Some states expanded medicaid as part of the ACA and others didn't. So someone's health insurance situation can also be affected by their state government; in some states it's a lot easier to fall through the cracks and not be able to afford insurance. So I'd rather see the exception made than keep locking people out.
 

Deleted member 5666

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,753
kamikazety said:
I know this is a heavy left leaning forum but are you telling me its alright to not pay into health insurance but the moment something bad is happening everyone should be able to enroll? Seems like a lot of Americans chose to not keep health insurance to take a stupid risk and save money.
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You realize when someone gets let go of their job they soon after lose their employer insurance right?

There are A LOT of people who just lost their job.
 
kamikazety

kamikazety

Banned
Dec 5, 2018
187
Cheebo said:
You realize when someone gets let go of their job they soon after lose their employer insurance right?

There are A LOT of people who just lost their job.
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Losing your job gives your Cobra and Is a qualifying event for ACA enrollment. For the item in question they are not locked out of insurance.
 
kamikazety

kamikazety

Banned
Dec 5, 2018
187
Wraith said:
a.) The system we have, even absent a pandemic, even prior to Republican sabotage, is flawed and we'd be much better off if everyone in this country had good health insurance, if they weren't making decisions about their health with "can I afford it?" being the driving factor.

b.) The individual mandate and associated penalty for forgoing insurance was designed to get people insured, in return for guaranteeing coverage for pre-existing conditions. The mandate got killed, and surprise surprise, more people went uninsured, health insurance premiums went up. This wasn't the way the ACA was designed. (It's not how insurance in general is supposed to work.) We'd have had far more people insured if the ACA hadn't been hacked away at for the last decade.

c.) A pandemic like this affects everyone, regardless of who made good decisions and who made bad decisions. More people insured can only help the situation, right? So fewer people are afraid to get care when they need it. Plus we have this messy system where everyone's health care options vary wildly state to state. Some states expanded medicaid as part of the ACA and others didn't. So someone's health insurance situation can also be affected by their state government; in some states it's a lot easier to fall through the cracks and not be able to afford insurance. So I'd rather see the exception made than keep locking people out.
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To be clear, I agree a bill covering all COVID costs should be released regardless of insurance.

But the discussion here was about allowing ACA to be opened up. This is the wrong approach, people still have to pay for insurance one way or the other and anyone who already had insurance via job and lost it can do that anyway. The only way to correct this issue is blanket corona coverage.
 
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Wraith

Wraith

Member
Jun 28, 2018
8,892
kamikazety said:
To be clear, I agree a bill covering all COVID costs should be released regardless of insurance.

But the discussion here was about allowing ACA to be opened up. This is the wrong approach, people still have to pay for insurance one way or the other and anyone who already had insurance via job and lost it can do that anyway. The only way to correct this issue is blanket corona coverage.
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If we can do more than opening up ACA enrollment, sure, absolutely. Let's do that. (A lot of people with insurance still are hamstrung by huge deductibles.) Not a lot about the executive branch's response so far suggests to me that they intend to do that anytime soon (pushing R's in House/Senate to back it), but I'd love to see it happen.

I assumed that re-opening ACA enrollment could just be done at any time without passing legislation. (Article says health insurance orgs already okayed it.)

And some folks will still worry "Oh, if it's not Corona, I'm stuck with a huge bill, maybe it's just the flu..."
 
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