Voluntary Special Enrollment Period for Off-Marketplace Health Plans

On February 26, 2021, Commissioner Hayashida issued Memorandum 2021-1H, encouraging insurers to offer a special enrollment period (SEP) to permit individuals to enroll in ACA-compliant off-marketplace health plans. This SEP is encouraged as the federal marketplace will reopen for a 90-day SEP pursuant to President Biden’s executive order.

Insurers that choose to provide this parallel SEP to plans outside the marketplace should submit an informational filing with a letter and documents as required by the commissioner.

This information may be of use to employees who have not been able to enroll in other coverage. However, this SEP for non-exchange coverage would likely not give rise to a qualifying event that would allow employees to terminate their employer group health plan coverage. It is also important to note that these private health plans often meet ACA requirements, but consumers would not qualify for premium tax credits to help pay for them.

Employers with employees in Hawaii should be aware of this development.

Memorandum 2021-1H »