March 11, 2015
The Kentucky Office of the Health Benefit and Health Information Exchange recently announced a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for individuals and families who are subject to the fee or “shared responsibility payment” when they file their 2014 taxes. This SEP gives those who were unaware or didn’t understand the implications of the requirement to have coverage another opportunity to enroll in coverage for 2015 through Kynect and avoid future penalties for not having health care coverage. This SEP will run from March 2 through April 30, 2015.
Anthem is offering the same SEP (March 2 through April 30, 2015) for Anthem Individual health plans sold off-exchange.
To qualify for this SEP, either on-exchange (through Kynect) or off-exchange, consumers must not be currently enrolled in health care coverage for 2015; and attest that they either have an IRS penalty for 2014 or that they will have an IRS tax penalty for 2015 for not having health care coverage.
Below are details about the process for applying for this SEP, either on- or off-exchange:
Off-exchange applications:
Qualified applicants can apply either online or by submitting a paper application. For both types of applications, the applicant will be asked to provide a “Qualifying Event” or reason. For online applications, they should choose “Other” and type in “tax penalty” in the free form box. For paper applications, they should choose “Other” and write “tax penalty” in the blank space.
On-exchange applications:
If you have Individual clients who might qualify for this SEP through Kynect, direct them to kynect.ky.gov or the Kynect call center at 1-855-459-6328.
Enrolling in health coverage during this SEP does not provide a remedy to individuals who owe the penalty for 2014 or part of 2015.
This article applies to:
-Kentucky
-Individuals (under 65)
Questions? Contact Kathy@agent-link.net
