New Law passed by Congress guarantees 3 more years of savings from health care premium assistance!
Called “the biggest health reform initiative since passage of the Affordable Care Act more than a decade ago.” by Larry Levitt, Executive VP for health policy at Kaiser Family Foundation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tampa FL, August 16, 2022
Covering Florida Navigators across Florida are excitedly preparing for the upcoming Open Enrollment Period as President Joe Biden today put his signature on the new “Inflation Reduction Act” bill that was approved by the House and Senate last week. The deficit-reducing, multi-faceted bill provides for reduced Medicare costs for seniors, prescription drug savings, clean-energy incentives and tax savings, a corporate minimum tax, and a 3-year extension of expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies!
Florida Covering Kids and Families Project Director Jodi Ray said, “The extension of the ACA subsidies is a game-changer, if Congress had not acted last week, Florida health care consumers were looking at steep increases of over 50% in Marketplace premium payments.”
Ray added, “The subsidies will increase the amount of financial help available to those who have been eligible and expand subsides to middle-income consumers who would have been priced out of coverage. For example, we were looking at the return of the subsidy cliff, meaning that people earning over 4x the poverty limit, or about $51,520 for a single person, would have lost subsidy eligibility altogether.”
The new law is also critically important in Florida, a non-Medicaid expansion state, since we are expecting the end of the federal Public Health Emergency at any time. which will likely result in an “unrolling” or the transitioning of many Floridians from Medicaid. The extended subsidies will help to cushion that blow for many of our most at-risk neighbors in communities throughout Florida.
The current Special Enrollment Period also remains available through October 31, 2022, for individuals and families who qualify due to life change circumstances, including moving to a new county, losing insurance through a job change, having (or adopting) a child, marriage, divorce, and other personal circumstances. Covering Florida Navigators provide services at no cost and without bias towards any coverage options and can help consumers determine eligibility. Consumers are also urged to contact Covering Florida for assistance in determining if they are eligible for the 150% household income threshold SEP. The tenth annual Open Enrollment Period begins on November 1, 2022, The OE10 period allows all consumers to shop, choose and/or renew their policies for coverage in 2023.
Florida Covering Kids & Families at the University of South Florida partners with organizations collectively referred to as the “COVERING FLORIDA” consortium, to provide Navigator services across the state of Florida. Our Navigators provide free of charge outreach and enrollment services to any Floridian looking to enroll in health care coverage in the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace. We assist consumers with telephone, in-person, and virtual online enrollment service and provide public education and outreach activities at locations throughout the state. Our Navigators are trained and able to help consumers as they look for health coverage options through the Marketplace, including completing eligibility and enrollment forms. Covering Florida Navigator services are free to consumers in all 67 counties, with confidential one-on-one, unbiased customer service.
Florida Covering Kids and Families and its partners have been providing free Navigator services throughout the state of Florida since the first Open Enrollment Period in 2013. The following ten partners comprise the 2022-2023 Covering Florida statewide consortium:
• Big Bend Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) - Serving Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Leon, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla, and Washington counties
• Epilepsy Florida (South Florida Navigation) – Serving Broward, Indian River, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties.
• Family Healthcare Foundation – Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Polk counties
• Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida– Serving Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns, and Volusia counties.
• Health Planning Council of Southwest Florida– Serving Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota counties.
• 90 Works- Serving Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties.
• Primary Care Access Network (PCAN, Covering Central Florida)– Serving Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties.
• Suwannee River Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) - Serving Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee, and Union counties.
• United Way of Brevard – Serving Brevard County.
• University of South Florida Navigators– Providing Toll-Free and Virtual Services in ALL FL COUNTIES
The number of Floridians enrolled in the Marketplace each year has consistently exceeded expectations over previous years. Florida year-after-year leads the United States in enrollments. Consumers who are unable to secure insurance through employment or other options owe it to themselves and their families to #GetCovered and insure themselves against potentially life changing health related emergencies and developments. Call or visit Covering Florida today at 877-813-9115 or www.CoveringFlorida.org
Florida Media Contact: Jody Young cell: 561-704-3912 email: CoveringFLA@gmail.com
Tampa FL, August 16, 2022
Covering Florida Navigators across Florida are excitedly preparing for the upcoming Open Enrollment Period as President Joe Biden today put his signature on the new “Inflation Reduction Act” bill that was approved by the House and Senate last week. The deficit-reducing, multi-faceted bill provides for reduced Medicare costs for seniors, prescription drug savings, clean-energy incentives and tax savings, a corporate minimum tax, and a 3-year extension of expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies!
Florida Covering Kids and Families Project Director Jodi Ray said, “The extension of the ACA subsidies is a game-changer, if Congress had not acted last week, Florida health care consumers were looking at steep increases of over 50% in Marketplace premium payments.”
Ray added, “The subsidies will increase the amount of financial help available to those who have been eligible and expand subsides to middle-income consumers who would have been priced out of coverage. For example, we were looking at the return of the subsidy cliff, meaning that people earning over 4x the poverty limit, or about $51,520 for a single person, would have lost subsidy eligibility altogether.”
The new law is also critically important in Florida, a non-Medicaid expansion state, since we are expecting the end of the federal Public Health Emergency at any time. which will likely result in an “unrolling” or the transitioning of many Floridians from Medicaid. The extended subsidies will help to cushion that blow for many of our most at-risk neighbors in communities throughout Florida.
The current Special Enrollment Period also remains available through October 31, 2022, for individuals and families who qualify due to life change circumstances, including moving to a new county, losing insurance through a job change, having (or adopting) a child, marriage, divorce, and other personal circumstances. Covering Florida Navigators provide services at no cost and without bias towards any coverage options and can help consumers determine eligibility. Consumers are also urged to contact Covering Florida for assistance in determining if they are eligible for the 150% household income threshold SEP. The tenth annual Open Enrollment Period begins on November 1, 2022, The OE10 period allows all consumers to shop, choose and/or renew their policies for coverage in 2023.
Florida Covering Kids & Families at the University of South Florida partners with organizations collectively referred to as the “COVERING FLORIDA” consortium, to provide Navigator services across the state of Florida. Our Navigators provide free of charge outreach and enrollment services to any Floridian looking to enroll in health care coverage in the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace. We assist consumers with telephone, in-person, and virtual online enrollment service and provide public education and outreach activities at locations throughout the state. Our Navigators are trained and able to help consumers as they look for health coverage options through the Marketplace, including completing eligibility and enrollment forms. Covering Florida Navigator services are free to consumers in all 67 counties, with confidential one-on-one, unbiased customer service.
Florida Covering Kids and Families and its partners have been providing free Navigator services throughout the state of Florida since the first Open Enrollment Period in 2013. The following ten partners comprise the 2022-2023 Covering Florida statewide consortium:
• Big Bend Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) - Serving Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Leon, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla, and Washington counties
• Epilepsy Florida (South Florida Navigation) – Serving Broward, Indian River, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties.
• Family Healthcare Foundation – Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Polk counties
• Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida– Serving Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns, and Volusia counties.
• Health Planning Council of Southwest Florida– Serving Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota counties.
• 90 Works- Serving Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties.
• Primary Care Access Network (PCAN, Covering Central Florida)– Serving Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties.
• Suwannee River Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) - Serving Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee, and Union counties.
• United Way of Brevard – Serving Brevard County.
• University of South Florida Navigators– Providing Toll-Free and Virtual Services in ALL FL COUNTIES
The number of Floridians enrolled in the Marketplace each year has consistently exceeded expectations over previous years. Florida year-after-year leads the United States in enrollments. Consumers who are unable to secure insurance through employment or other options owe it to themselves and their families to #GetCovered and insure themselves against potentially life changing health related emergencies and developments. Call or visit Covering Florida today at 877-813-9115 or www.CoveringFlorida.org
Florida Media Contact: Jody Young cell: 561-704-3912 email: CoveringFLA@gmail.com
#GetCovered! We’ve been shouting it from the mountain tops for over a decade, but there are still a lot of Floridians who don’t know about the health coverage opportunities they are missing out on! Did you know that during #SpecialEnrollment you have up to 60 days to enroll in a new plan after a life-changing event? Things like moving to a new town, getting married or divorced, having a baby or having a significant change in income can qualify you- Call us to talk to a Navigator today, the help is free! 877-813-9115 or visit www.CoveringFlorida.org
New Special Enrollment Eligibility Program Offering $0 Premiums for
Low-Income Floridians Earning Less Than 150% of the Federal Poverty Level
Please click here for Info & Press Release: https://www.coveringflorida.org/news/new-special-enrollment-eligibility-program-offering-0-premiums-forlow-income-floridians-earning-less-than-150-of-the-federal-poverty-level
Covering Florida Navigators provide outreach and enrollment services free of charge to anyone looking to enroll for health care coverage in the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace.
We assist consumers with in-person, telephone and virtual online
enrollment service and provide public education and outreach activities
at locations throughout the state.
Navigators are trained and able to help consumers as they look for health coverage options through the Marketplace, including completing eligibility
and enrollment forms. These individuals and organizations are required
to be unbiased. Their services are free to consumers.
Covering Florida Navigators provide assistance in all of Florida’s 67 counties and offer confidential one-on-one customer service, phone assistance, and virtual appointments.
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If you schedule an appointment on this website, you will be contacted only for follow up regarding your appointment for application assistance or to send you educational information that is directly relevant to the authorized Navigator functions.
The project described was supported by Funding Opportunity Number NAVCA210430-01-00 from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The contents provided are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS or any of its agencies.