Health care signup period is short

Consumers have only six months to choose plans

Although 1.4 million Floridians who rely on Obamacare are confused by recent actions and messages from the White House, so-called navigator groups are still in business and proceeding with plans to conduct sign-up assistance events after Nov. 1, when enrollment begins for 2018 plans.

Despite what you might have heard, Obamacare is not dead yet.

And although 1.4 million Floridians who rely on it are confused by recent actions and messages from the White House, so-called navigator groups are still in business and proceeding with plans to conduct sign-up assistance events after Nov. 1, when enrollment begins for 2018 plans.

On Thursday, the Trump administration announced it was discontinuing cost-sharing subsidies that were authorized under the previous administration. The subsidies, sent directly to health insurance companies, reduce co-pays and deductibles for low-income consumers.

The news has many Florida residents who buy plans on the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace uncertain about whether federal assistance will continue to be available for 2018 plans, said Jodi Ray, who oversees statewide outreach at the University of Florida’s non-profit Florida Covering Kids & Families program. The answer is yes. The assistance will be available in 2018, but will just come from another federal pool of money. In Florida, insurance regulators anticipated Trump would stop the payments and last month told the six health insurers still selling subsidized plans to increase their rates. But because federal law requires subsidies to keep premiums low for qualifying consumers, those higher rates will be offset by increases in federal premium subsidies.

About 93 percent of Florida’s Obamacare customers receive some sort of federal subsidy. Federal tax credits that reduce premium costs are most common, while 72 percent also received cost-sharing reduction assistance to help pay for co-pays and deductibles.

“One of our challenges is overcoming the confusing messaging [from the Trump administration],” Ray said. “People are afraid they’re going to lose their insurance. They think they won’t get cost-sharing reductions or tax credits.”

Islara Souto, navigation program manager for the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, said program navigators are getting calls from consumers they have helped in the past. “They’re having anxiety, wondering, ‘Am I going to be able to re-enroll? Will I be able to have health insurance?’ ”

Spreading the news that qualifying consumers will receive the same level of federal assistance

next year will be one of the top priorities for navigators this year, Ray said.

Another will be to inform consumers that the individual mandate, the part of the Affordable Care Act requiring individuals and households to buy health insurance or pay a tax penalty, remains enforceable under federal law, said Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation.

Whether the Trump administration will announce that it won’t enforce the mandate — and weaken the health insurance pool by allowing the youngest and healthiest members to opt out — remains to be seen, Pollitz said.

Another priority for navigators will be to make sure consumers know they have less time to sign up this year. The open enrollment period has been cut in half, from three months to 45 days. Enrollees need to be signed up by Dec. 15, but Ray cautions people not to wait until the last minute.

Pollitz said some lastminute enrollees had trouble signing up on the HealthCare.gov website in previous years. Many were allowed to enroll after the deadline, but Pollitz isn’t sure that will be allowed under the Trump administration.

“My main message is don’t panic. But get on Healthcare.gov on Nov. 1,” Pollitz said.

Individuals who “reside in or move from areas affected by a hurricane in 2017” will be allowed to enroll through Dec. 31, according to an announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers the federal marketplace. But anyone who wants to enroll between Dec. 16 and Dec. 31 will need to make a request by contacting the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596.

In addition to a shorter enrollment period, the statewide navigator programs overseen by Ray and Souto will have to make do with fewer workers this year.

The Trump administration cut budgets of each, along with similar organizations across the country. Florida Covering Kids and Families took a 15 percent hit, totaling about $900,000. The program will stage fewer events with fewer navigators, she said.

The Epilepsy Foundation lost 59 percent of its budget — about $1 million — and expects to have 29 navigators instead of the 75 it initially anticipated, Souto said.

Ray and Souto said their navigators will work long hours during the shortened enrollment period, assisting those who need help the most — non-English speakers, the disabled community, people who live in hard-to-reach rural areas.

Local-level organizations are pledging to help as well by making space in hospitals, libraries and churches for enrollment assistance activities. Tampa’s mayor has even pledged to open the city’s recreation centers, Ray said.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, the only health insurer still offering ACA plans in all 67 Florida counties, is increasing its outreach efforts as well by hosting more than 1,000 education sessions across the state for consumers, spokesman Doug Bartel said.

“We realized early on that a grassroots, very local approach is the best way to reach potential members in this important group,” he said. The company also operates storefront retail centers throughout the state.

In September, the company said it was creating a new selection of lower priced “off-market” plans for customers who would otherwise see prices of their current plans increase out of reach.

“We are emailing, mailing and calling these members to make sure they know they have affordable options,” he said.

“One of our challenges is overcoming the confusing messaging. People are afraid they’re going to lose their insurance. They think they won’t get cost-sharing reductions or tax credits.” Jodi Ray, Florida Covering Kids & Families