Friday Health Plan policyholders in North Carolina must select new coverage

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced that Friday Health Plans of North Carolina was placed into receivership, effective July 16. Liquidation of Friday Health Plans-NC will occur Sept. 1.

Friday Health Plans-NC policyholders must choose a new exchange health insurance plan by Aug. 31 to avoid a gap in health insurance coverage.

• Health insurance coverage for people who have a plan from Friday Health Plans will end on Aug. 31.
• The Department of Insurance has coordinated with the U.S. Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight to implement a special enrollment period for members to select another exchange health plan.
• The special enrollment period began on July 2 and ends on Oct. 30.
• People who want coverage starting on Sept. 1, must enroll in a new plan by Aug. 31.
• Individuals who enroll after Aug. 31, will have their coverage start on the first of the month after enrolling in a new plan.

To assist Friday Health Plan policyholders with this transition, Commissioner Causey welcomes insurers offering health plans on the federally facilitated exchange to work with the Department to honor deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums that Friday Health Plan members have already accumulated for 2023.  So far, one insurer has volunteered to do so.

AmeriHealth Caritas has announced that it will honor the payments Friday Health Plan members have already made toward their 2023 plan year deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums if they join AmeriHealth Caritas Next in North Carolina during the special enrollment period through Oct. 30.

In July, the Colorado Division of Insurance asked the courts in that state to liquidate Friday Health Plans, meaning that their health plans in Colorado will terminate on Aug. 31.

Friday Health announced in early June it would cease operations by the end of the year in the seven states in which it does business. Friday covers between 300,000 and 400,000 in the states of Colorado, Georgia, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina and Oklahoma and employs between 300 and 400 employees, the Alamosa (Colo.) Daily Courier reported. Friday Health is based in Alamosa.

“Friday Health Plans has grown incredibly quickly, which is a testament to the strength of our mission of delivering affordability, simplicity and outstanding customer service,” the company said on its website.  “Unfortunately, Friday has been unable to scale our financial infrastructure to match the pace of our growth and secure the additional capital required to run our business. While we are deeply disappointed, we agree with the decision of our state regulators that it is necessary to wind down Friday’s business operations over time in accordance with the regulations in the states where we are operating.”

Friday stopped offering coverage in Texas and New Mexico in November amid concerns about the increasing costs of enrolling more members.