A special Affordable Care Act open enrollment period put into place due to the COVID-19 pandemic is set to be extended an additional three months.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday it's extending a special Affordable Care Act open enrollment period to August 15, The Wall Street Journal reported. This open enrollment period began on Feb. 15 and was originally set to end on May 15. It was put into place in order to "give Americans that need health care coverage during this global pandemic the opportunity to sign up," the White House previously said.
Extending the period by three months was intended to ensure Americans would have additional time both to sign up and to re-evaluate coverage in light of increased subsidies that were part of Congress' recent COVID-19 relief legislation, according to the Journal. Over 206,000 Americans signed up for coverage during the enrollment period's first two weeks, CNN previously reported.
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"Every American deserves access to quality, affordable healthcare — especially as we fight back against the COVID-19 pandemic," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said.
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