Obamacare sign-ups reopen

HealthCare. gov’s market for subsidized health plans reopens today for a special three-month sign-up window as the Democratic-led Congress pushes a boost in financial help that could cut premiums by double digits.

This enrollment period during the coronavirus pandemic is an early test of President Joe Biden’s strategy to use the Affordable Care Act as a springboard toward health coverage for all. Advancing on a parallel track, the new COVID-19 relief bill from House Democrats would offer a generous, though temporary, increase in subsidies for people covered by the law known as Obamacare.

“It is a hugely important signaling move,” said Katherine Hempstead of the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “The administration is doing more than having open enrollment here, they’re saying they want to make this coverage more affordable.”

While policy experts like Hempstead are taking note, it’s unclear how uninsured Americans will respond. Former President Barack Obama’s health law has been on the books over a decade, but surveys consistently show that many people lacking job-based insurance do not realize they may qualify. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 33 million people are uninsured this year.

At Foundation Communities, an Austin, Texas, nonprofit that serves lowincome working people, program director Kori Hattemer says she’s seeing an uptick in interest. Although her agency had not started advertising, appointments for enrollment assistance booked up quickly. Volunteer counselors are being called back.

For clients, “it’s their last chance probably to enroll in health insurance for 2021,” Hattemer said.

HealthCare.gov will be accepting applications through May 15, a period about twice as long as annual open enrollment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the program, has a $50 million advertising budget. Under Biden, there will be a special emphasis on reaching Black and Latino communities that have borne a heavy burden from COVID-19.