Health Insurers Allow Some to Pay Premiums Late

From The Wall Street Journal:

Health insurers acceded to a request from the Obama administration and said they would delay a deadline for some people to pay their insurance premiums.

The move is part of the last-minute rush to get ready for the full rollout of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, on Jan. 1. People buying coverage on the new health-insurance exchanges created by the law must choose a policy by Dec. 23 in order to get coverage starting in the new year.

Last week, the Obama administration asked insurers to take a flexible approach to some deadlines, hoping to avoid unpleasant surprises on Jan. 1 when hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people will flood the system with new insurance.

Insurers on Wednesday agreed to take one of the steps sought by the administration, saying that new enrollees can pay their first-month premium as late as Jan. 10 and still get coverage retroactive to Jan. 1. The move was announced by America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry trade group.

The Obama administration had also suggested that insurers allow coverage to begin Jan. 1 even if applicants miss the Dec. 23 deadline by a few days. But Wednesday’s announcement didn’t include any extension of the Dec. 23 date.