Important Obamacare ‘Tweak’ To Help Enrollees

The rollout of the Affordable Care Act has been refined, to the benefit of anyone who enrolls in the program prior to April 1, 2014.

Under the prior understanding of the law, it was possible for an individual to sign up for insurance during the first enrollment period — which lasts until April 1 — but to be subject to the penalty assessed to those without insurance. Which, needless to say, made no sense.

But now that eventuality is gone; those who enroll near the end of the period, or who select policies that go into effect after April 1 (thus rendering some individuals devoid of insurance for three contiguous months, which is a no-no under the ACA) will not be penalized.

This really matters — not only because of the early snafus in the ACA signup system, but because those who wait until springtime to join the program in good faith, or lose their jobs in the first quarter of next year, shouldn’t be punished for doing so.

It was an important refinement, and — if it’s publicized, which is always a question — should have a non-trivial effect on first-stage signups.

More at the Washington Post.

By: rhb

Rob is a NYC-based Internet entrepreneur. He's also a businessman and job creator (wait: doesn't demand create jobs?) who understands the sense, and the eventual predominance, of the progressive agenda.