December 17th, 2018 – Select health insurance carriers in Colorado will still allow off-exchange enrollments for a January 1st, 2019 start date, provided the enrollments are completed by December 31st, 2018.
Otherwise, February 1st will be the earliest effective date allowed, provided the enrollments are completed by the last day of 2019 open enrollment. While open enrollment closed earlier in many other states, in Colorado the last day of 2019 open enrollment is January 15th, 2019.
ACA Ruled Unconstitutional – Law Remains in Effect During Appeal
December 14th, 2018 – U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor issued a ruling late Friday that Congress’ 2017 decision to remove the individual mandate’s tax penalty essentially voided the entire Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The Texas district court’s ruling is not an injunction and does not block the operation of the law, so the Affordable Care Act law remains in effect.
Many analysts, even staunchly conservative ones, expect the ruling to be reversed by higher courts. The newly elected Democratic majority in the House will almost certainly support the appeal.
Seema Verma, head of the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who oversees Obamacare’s insurance marketplaces, tweeted that “Obamacare exchanges are still open for business and that open enrollment will continue. There is no impact to current coverage or coverage in a 2019 plan.”
