President Biden issued an Executive Order on January 28 requiring the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to open a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for individuals and families for Marketplace coverage in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. This SEP will allow individuals and families in states with Marketplaces served by the HealthCare.gov platform to enroll in 2021 health insurance coverage. Beginning February 15, 2021 and through May 15, 2021, the federal Marketplace will be available to all Marketplace-eligible consumers who are submitting a new application or updating an existing application. State-based Marketplaces (SBMs) operating their own platform have the opportunity to take similar action within their states. South Dakota has a federally operated marketplace.
The SEP will be offered to consumers applying for new coverage or updating an existing application through HealthCare.gov, the Marketplace call center, or through direct enrollment channels. Coverage is prospective, with coverage beginning the first day of the month following the date of plan selection.
More information on the SEP is available here.
More information about the Health Insurance Marketplace is available at https://www.healthcare.gov.
