Obama Administration Plans To Delay Penalties For Consumers

The Obama administration said Wednesday that it would delay imposing penalties for six weeks on some consumers who might have been caught in a sticky timing problem for enrolling in coverage through the health law’s new insurance marketplaces.

Those marketplaces, also known as exchanges, have come under intense scrutiny since opening on Oct. 1 because the technology has malfunctioned. But the White House is not linking this change of policy to website problems.

"There is a disconnect between the open enrollment and individual responsibility time frames in the first year only. The administration is working to align those policies and will issue guidance soon. This guidance will ensure that if you sign up for insurance by the end of March, you will not face a penalty," a Department of Health and Human Services official said late Wednesday. The official did not provide any additional information on when that guidance would be forthcoming.

The law currently requires that by Jan. 1 most people must have health insurance. But the law also allows consumers to be without coverage for less than three consecutive months without a fine, meaning they have until March 31 to get coverage.

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Source: Kaiser Health News