The Commonwealth Fund | January 8, 2014
Read the PublicationUnder President Obama’s transitional policy fix for people whose health insurance plans were canceled, states and insurers are encouraged, but not required, to allow people to reenroll in and even renew these plans. This means that health plans that exist today, but do not comply with the Affordable Care Act’s new protections set to go into effect in 2014, could extend through 2015. Separate from this transitional policy fix, the Administration announced a further clarification to exempt consumers whose policies will not be renewed from the penalty for not having health insurance. These consumers will be eligible to purchase a catastrophic plan, which has the highest level of cost-sharing and is typically available only for those under age 30.