CMS SEP Extension for Hurricane Victims
Due to the events of the recent hurricanes – Maria, Jose, and Harvey – CMS has announced a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for those affected. With this special SEP in place, individuals affected will be able to enroll, dis-enroll, or switch Medicare health or prescription drug plans. This SEP applies to individuals who might have resided in the affected areas or depend on someone who might have been affected. This SEP will be available to victims through the end of the 2017 year. Also, anyone, who had a special enrollment 60 days prior to the hurricanes, will also be able to participate in the special SEP extension.
If you did not have coverage beforehand, you will not be able to participate in this SEP. This will give people a chance to recover with everything else on their minds. If you want to know how to take advantage of this SEP, please contact your local agent. There are multiple other relief plans that CMS has offered to those affected by these disasters; in order to see those changes, please visit https://www.cms.gov.
The rules of the land still apply, meaning the ACA is still the countries healthcare system. If you would like to look into different options available, ask your local agent about short-term or group insurance. CMS will examine the areas affected by hurricanes and will consider taking action that reaches beyond 2017, if needed. Stay tuned at Empower for a further examination of news releases from CMS.