Open enrollment begins Tuesday, Nov. 1, for Pennsylvania’s health insurance marketplace, Pennie.com.
Pennie is Pennsylvania’s counterpart to Healthcare.gov, the national marketplace established in connection with the Affordable Care Act. It allows individuals not covered by insurance through an employer, Medicare or Medicaid to shop for plans.
Around 90% of Pennie customers qualify for subsidies. Nearly 40% of those covered through Pennie pay less than $75 a month, the state said.
Eligibility for subsidies recently expanded further thanks to the federal government eliminating a technicality known as the “family glitch.”
Up to now, employer-based plans have been able to charge more than 9.2% of a household’s income for family coverage without violating the ACA’s affordability rules. Thanks to a recent rule change, those families can receive subsidies through their health insurance marketplace starting in 2023 to bring their cost under the 9.2% limit.
Administrators urged Pennsylvanians to apply to Pennie if they believe they might be eligible now that the “family glitch” is gone.
Open enrollment lasts through Jan. 15. Plans purchased by Dec. 15 will take effect on Jan. 1; plans purchased by Jan. 15 will take effect Feb. 1.
Outside the open enrollment period, the marketplace is limited to customers who have experienced a “qualifying life event,” such as a marriage or having a baby.
