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This is an update concerning the new "monthly Special Enrollment Period" -- effectively, year-round enrollment - -that CMS has implemented on HealthCare.gov for applicants with incomes below 150% FPL (currently $19,140 for an individual, $32,580 for a family of four).*
In a prior post about the monthly SEP, I emphasized that the vast majority (88%) of enrollees with incomes below the 150% FPL threshold are in states that have refused to enact the ACA Medicaid expansion, and that one effect may be to reduce the "coverage gap" in those states -- that is, the lack of subsidized coverage available to adults with incomes below 100% FPL, the minimum threshold for marketplace subsidy eligibility. During the pandemic, marketplace enrollment has increased by leaps and bounds in nonexpansion states -- it's up 45% in two years -- and half the enrolment in those states is at incomes below 150% FPL. Noting that subsidy eligibility is based on an applicant's estimate of future income, and that income is notoriously difficult to predict for low earners, I outlined a regulatory question posed by the rule establishing the monthly SEP:
