Pennie’s Board of Directors approved a COBRA Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for those who are eligible for the COBRA subsidy under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and will receive 100% subsidy for their COBRA premium from April 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2021. The SEP will be available after the COBRA subsidy comes to an end.
- When the ARPA COBRA subsidy for a qualified individual runs out on Sept. 30, 2021, they can contact Pennie and open a COBRA special enrollment period (SEP) with a cost-sharing reduction (CSR), providing them with 60 days to secure coverage. The customer can begin reviewing plans Aug. 2nd in accordance with the SEP.
- Under the COBRA SEP, a customer will qualify for the maximum advance premium tax credit (APTC) as provided under ARPA for those claiming unemployment for at least one week, regardless of whether they collect unemployment compensation benefit payments. The exception – a person who has been discharged from their employer and ineligible for unemployment.
- If the customer transitions from the COBRA SEP to 2021 coverage with Pennie and seeks to continue coverage through Pennie for Plan Year 2022, enhanced subsidies due to unemployment in 2021 will NOT continue in 2022; however, the general ARPA subsidies will apply in 2022.