Illinois extends Affordable Care Act open enrollment, as fate of subsidies remains uncertain

Illinois is giving residents more time to shop for health insurance on the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange, as Congress continues to tussle over whether to extend subsidies that reduce the cost of coverage.

Illinois will now give residents until Jan. 31 to choose health insurance plans on the state’s new Affordable Care Act exchange, at GetCoveredIllinois.gov. Previously, the open enrollment period was slated to end Jan. 15.

“As a state-based marketplace, not only do we now have the authority to offer this special enrollment extension, but we also have more resources to support our customers in finding affordable health coverage options,” said Morgan Winters, director of Get Covered Illinois, in a news release.

The extension comes as the fate of enhanced premium subsidies remains unclear. People have long been able to get subsidies to offset the cost of their monthly premiums, but in 2021 a bill was signed into law to make the subsidies more generous and offer them to more people. The Inflation Reduction Act then extended the more generous subsidies through 2025.

Those subsidies expired at the end of last year, with Congress unable to reach agreement about them even after a 43-day government shutdown over the issue. Lawmakers could, however, still revive the enhanced subsidies for coverage this year.

The House passed a bill last week to extend the enhanced subsidies for three more years, and the bill is now before the Senate, where it’s expected to face significant opposition. Also, on Sunday, President Donald Trump said he might veto a bill to extend the subsidies, even if it does pass, according to Bloomberg.

If the enhanced subsidies aren’t put back in place, Illinois residents with exchange plans can expect to pay 78% more, on average, next year across the state because of both less generous subsidies and increases in the costs of the plans, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance.

In Illinois, about 550,000 people enrolled in exchange plans last year, and 91% of them got the enhanced premium tax credits.

Prior to this year, Illinois residents who wanted exchange coverage shopped on the federal exchange at Healthcare.gov. But this year, Illinois is running its own exchange at GetCoveredIllinois.gov, which allows the state to make a number of its own decisions about the marketplace, including the length of open enrollment windows.

The deadline has already passed for people wishing to enroll in coverage for this month, but people who enroll by Jan. 31 can get coverage starting Feb. 1.

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