On May 2, 2014, the
Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance announcing that for a limited time
only Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment would be extended to any
COBRA beneficiary regardless of when they elected their COBRA coverage.
The extension comes following
concerns that COBRA recipients did not receive timely information informing
them of their options for subsidy qualification and enrolling in an ACA plan.
Open enrollment in the
Affordable Care Act closed on March 31, 2014; however, COBRA beneficiaries are
now eligible to enroll in an ACA plan through July 1, 2014. COBRA stands for
the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act - a landmark federal law
passed by Congress in 1986 allowing employees to continue enrollment in their
group coverage for up to 18 months following their separation of employment.
“COBRA coverage can be
prohibitively expensive” says Josh Williams, founder and owner of WNC Health
Insurance. “This is a great opportunity for individuals and families to be able
to keep their valuable health insurance in place and possibly save a lot of
money”
“During Open Enrollment,
enrolling through the web site was confusing for any COBRA beneficiary. We
welcome this extension and are ready to help COBRA beneficiaries across North
Carolina keep their coverage in place, reduce cost and have better benefits in
place.”
Williams encourages anyone
currently on COBRA to give his office a call or to stop by in person to get the
process started. “If you go to healthcare.gov, you may get confused and end up
not qualifying at all or for less subsidy than you are eligible for. Also, you
could select a plan that does not meet your needs. We have taken thousands of individuals
through the web site. Our licensed agents know how to get individuals and
families enrolled in the plan that is most appropriate for them and how they
use health care. We had a couple last week enroll in an ACA plan that was $ 540
less per month with significantly better benefits than their COBRA plan.” There
is no additional cost to work with an agent. “This is truly free advice” says
Williams. “Our agents can help you navigate the web site and talk about benefits.
We can also follow up with the insurance company to help with any enrollment
problems.”
ACA enrollment specialist are
available by phone from 9 am to 9 pm Monday through Friday. Walk in hours are
available at their location in South Asheville at 1854 Hendersonville Rd from 9
am to 6 pm Monday through Friday.
After July 1, 2014, existing
COBRA beneficiaries who do not opt to switch to an ACA health insurance plan will
not be eligible to enroll again until open enrollment for 2015 begins in mid-November.
Only individuals who are newly eligible for
COBRA (within the past 60-days), or whose COBRA benefits were recently exhausted (within the past
60-days) will be eligible for a special enrollment period.
Ready to start saving money
on health insurance?
WNC Health Insurance can help
you apply for substantial government subsidies under the Affordable Care Act
and evaluate available health insurance plans on the Marketplace, all at no
additional cost to you. Created to offer affordable health insurance and unmatched customer service to
North Carolina residents WNC Health Insurance was founded in 1994 by Josh
Williams as Josh Williams Enterprises, Inc., WNC Health Insurance is the
largest health insurance agency in Western North Carolina.
828-348-2583
855-395-5552
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