Smart Benefits: RI Joins Other States in Extending Exchange Enrollment Deadline

Smart Benefits: RI Joins Other States in Extending Exchange Enrollment Deadline

Rhode Island has followed the lead of other state-run exchanges and the Obama administration by giving uninsured residents more time to enroll in HealthSource RI and avoid tax penalties for next year.

HealthSource announced last week that it will offer a special enrollment period from March 15 to April 30 for individuals and families to get coverage for 2015. The extension is designed to give people time to complete their 2014 tax returns and determine whether they owe a penalty for failing to have insurance last year – and avoid it for 2015. That’s because next year, the shared responsibility payment will increase from $95 per adult or 1% of their income to $325 per adult or 2% of income, whichever is greater.

To quality for HealthSource’s special enrollment period, individuals and/or families must:

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• Not be enrolled in coverage through HealthSource for 2015
• Attest that when they filed their 2014 tax return, they paid the fee for not having health insurance coverage in 2014
• Attest that they first became aware of, or understood the implications of, the Shared Responsibility Payment after the end of the 2015 Open Enrollment Period (February 15, 2015) in connection with preparing their 2014 tax return

Customers who choose a plan and pay the first month’s premium by March 23 will have coverage effective on April 1, and those who choose a plan and pay the first month’s premium by April 23 will have coverage effective on May 1.

Rob Calise is a founding partner of Cornerstone Group, where he helps clients control the costs of employee benefits by focusing on consumer driven strategies and on how to best utilize the tax savings tools the government provides. Rob serves as Chairman of the Board of United Benefit Advisors, and is a board member of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI Broker Advisory Board, United HealthCare of New England Broker Advisory Board and Rhode Island Business Healthcare Advisors Council. He is also a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), American Health Insurance Association (AHIA) and the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC), as well as various human resource associations. Rob is a graduate of Bryant University with a BS in Finance.