TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Reps. Maxwell Frost and Darren Soto, Democrats of Florida, joined eight other members of the U.S. Congress, including Rep. A special enrollment period program is available for Americans who will lose their health insurance during certain pandemic easings.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act seeks to end the ongoing insurance requirement for Americans that was put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its March 31 end date gives the millions of Americans currently covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program just over two months to find other insurance options or lose their health benefits.
Frost and Soto sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra asking for a special enrollment period that would give the “nearly 18 million people” currently insured the opportunity to apply for care Grant or CHIP benefits. Coverage policies under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act have led to a 30 percent increase in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, as well as “record-low uninsured rates,” the letter to the federal government said.
A day after the letter was sent, a spokesman for Rep. Frost said the request had been granted, giving more than one million Floridians the chance to keep their health insurance.
“Thanks to the quick work of the Biden administration, our call for a special admissions period has been answered,” Frost said in a statement. “Now, more than 1 million fellow Floridians can breathe a sigh of relief that they will not leaving without the health insurance they deserved.”
A special enrollment period will allow those covered under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act regulations to apply for Medicaid or CHIP coverage through the Affordable Care Act Insurance Marketplace within 60 days.
