Important Changes

A couple of important announcements have come out in the last couple of days regarding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). First, the deadline for enrolling in a plan and receiving a January 1, 2014 effective date has been extended to December 23rd. This means you will have 8 more days to shop for and enroll in a health plan that will be effective at the start of the year.

The second piece of news involves the announcement from the State of Illinois Insurance Commissioner that insurers will be allowed to extend policies that are not ACA-compliant into 2014. So people that may have received a cancellation notice MIGHT be allowed to keep their plans.

I say MIGHT because it will now be up to each insurance company as to whether or not they will do this. This announcement is in response to Persident Obama's decision allowing states the ability to extend plans that would otherwise be canceled as they no longer complied with requirements of the ACA. This may mean some people and small groups that had received notices will have the option to keep their plans. But you will need to check with your insurer to see how they are going to respond.

This remains a very fluid situation and I will continue to provide updates as they come out.

You can reach me at 630-985-9628 or by email - mikekrucek@clear.net, if you have specific questions.