Trump administration plans to restrict Obamacare enrollment period

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

March 10, 2025 7:02 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago


NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - The Trump administration aims to close the enrollment period for Obamacare health insurance plans on December 15, one month earlier than the current deadline, the agency that oversees the program said in a press release.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the move aimed to address "improper enrollments", which it said had increased taxpayer spending on the program. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment and details on the alleged discrepancies.

It will also tighten the eligibility for the special sign-up period outside the enrollment dates of November 1 through December 15 and require additional income verification, without providing details.

The health plans, which are subsidized based on income, were introduced under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the signature legislation of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Since inception, 49.4 million Americans have signed up for the health plans, including a record 20.8 million people enrolled in 2024. The Medicare agency said it would also ensure consumers are not being enrolled in the plans without their consent.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trump-administration-plans-restrict-obamacare-enrollment-period-2025-03-10/

[rampartd]

1. centers for medicare and medicaid. is that dr oz? n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

2. He hasn't been confirmed yet.

He has so many (financial) conflicts of interest that it's breathtaking.

[kerouac2]

3. Then they will say enrollment is down because people hate it

And poison it to death like everything else.

[Lonestarblue]

4. They will shorten the enrollment period and then sabotage the computer system so people can't enroll.

Can’t have more people getting affordable healthcare.

[IronLionZion]

5. They're finding so many efficiencies

"improper enrollments" Right, a shorter deadline will fix that somehow.

They're not going to spend much effort notifying people of the new deadline either, because that would be fraud, waste, and abuse.

Merry Christmas, or something.

[progree]

6. This looks like the far bigger thing: "and require ADDITIONAL income verification, without providing details"

potentially making it a nightmare to "prove" one's income, similar to other means-tested programs like Medicaid and food stamps and SSI and yada. I suppose they will tack on a work requirement next.

I suspect they are already axing navigators that help people with questions.

Dow down over 400 points at 918 AM CDT. S&P 500 down 0.6%

[Silent Type]

7. The 2019 ACA open enrollment period ran from November 1, 2018 to December 15, 2018. This is just going back to

pre-covid dates. Hardly a big deal, though I'm not sure it's really necessary.

[tonekat]

8. The "improper enrollments" are from outside

It's unscrupulous Agents/Brokers who enroll folks in marketplace plans knowing they are already in Medicaid. They will also put their own ID numbers in place of that of a Navigator who already enrolled the person.

Additionally, with the drastic funding cuts for the current 5-year grant (really a Cooperative Agreement), many grantees are reporting that staff are leaving due to uncertainty.

All because Diaper Donny can't get over being made a fool of by Obama years ago.

[JCMach1]

9. Yes and no, this will also eliminate roll over enrollments

Essentially meaning you have to do the paperwork every year in a much smaller window of time.

Just ways to harass people and cheat them out of ACA.