New York State isn’t following the federal government’s move to cut the 2018 open enrollment period for health insurance in half.
Open enrollment for health insurance purchased through the federal marketplace will end December 15. New York won’t follow that deadline, and will be taking applications until January 31, 2018.
“An extended open enrollment period is a wonderful thing because we can serve everyone who comes to us, said Steve Wood of ACR Health in Syracuse. “And I fear that a shortened open enrollment, you’re going to lose a lot of people who are going to let it go and forget about it.”
Wood says New Yorkers have an advantage living in a state that adopted the Affordable Care Act early on.
“Some state’s let insurance go crazy, and get what they want. Not here. So we’re lucky to be here. We’re also lucky to have our own marketplace, so we have our own rules. So we have open enrollment that’s been extended from the federal,” said Wood.
ACR Health expects 10,000 people to sign up this year through a nine county area of Central New York and the North Country. ACR Health executive director Wil Murtaugh says New York has a robust program, compared to other states, as early adopters of the Affordable Care Act. However he admits the climate in Washington has created stress.
“What’s not been easy is the constant change by the federal government. Are we going cut this? Are we going to cut that? Are we going to do this? Are we going to do that? The state is trying to respond to all that, and it’s very challenging. So if things are cut, we have to wait to see how the state’s going to respond to it,” said Murtaugh.
The open enrollment period begins November 1.
