Consumers already in Covered California for 2022 will have their enrollments passively renewed into the same for 2023, if the plan is still being offered. Individuals and families can actively renew their coverage for 2023 either before they have been passively renewed or after.
Active Covered California Renewals Begin October 18, 2022, for 2023 Enrollment
The open enrollment period for the Covered California can be a very tricky time for consumers. There are special enrollment periods for individuals enrolling into health insurance for the first time, active renewals, and passive renewals for the next year. In short, there is lots of room for errors to be created. Consequently, you need to go slow and carefully review the Covered California page you are interacting with.
Open Enrollment Period will be from November 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023. Anyone can enroll in a health plan during OEP. Enrollment during the OEP by the end of December will have an effective date of January 1, 2023. Enrollments in January 2023 will have an effective date of February 1, 2023.
Active renewals will open October 18 and run through December 27. During the active renewal period consumers can update their account information, confirm their current plan (if offered), or select a new health plan. The changes will become effective January 1, 2023.
Passive Renewals Will Begin November 4
Passive renewals will begin November 4 and will be processed in batches until all Covered Cases are renewed for 2023. The passive renewal process takes existing application information and applies it to the 2023 enrollments. If a consumer’s 2022 health plan is being discontinued for 2023, the household will be enrolled in the lowest cost health plan of the same metal tier. If the consumer’s household income is now in Medi-Cal range, the affected household members will be placed in a Medi-Cal Carry Forward status. Covered California will forward the household information to Medi-Cal to be evaluated for Medi-Cal enrollment.
Changing Plans After Passive Renewal
Consumers can change their health plans even if they have been passively renewed. If a household has been passively enrolled into a new plan, because their 2022 health plan is not offered for 2023, the consumer can change plans. If changes are made by December 27, the new plan will become effective January 1, 2023. Plan changes in January will become effective in February.
Before making any changes to the Covered California account, make sure you are in the correct year. Once active renewal process starts, there will be a toggle switch in the upper left-hand corner of the home page that will indicate 2022 or 2023.
For example, if you moved and want to change your address for 2022, make sure the toggle switch is highlighted to 2022. The 2022 changes will rollover to 2023. But if you make the changes in the 2023 plan year mode, they will not be retroactive to the remaining months of 2022.
Consent for Verification
Consumers must agree to Covered California’s Consent for Verification condition in order to receive the federal subsidies. If a consumer has not updated their Consent for Verification agreement for 2023, no subsidies will be granted. If the consumer loses the subsidies and updates the Consent for Verification in January, the subsidies will be applied to the February invoice. Subsidies are not retroactive. The consumer will have to pay the full premium for January.
Tax Filing Attestation
Another reason why you may not be receiving subsidies for 2023 is that Covered California cannot verify if you filed your 2021 federal tax return. If you did file, there is a link on your account where you can attest that you filed or will file a tax return.
Loss of Coverage Special Enrollment Period
If you are enrolling in health insurance for the months of November and December, 2022, don’t use the Open Enrollment mode for 2023. Make sure you are in the 2022 plan year. Once you are enrolled, your changes will roll over to 2023. But this is where some of the hiccups can occur with Covered California. Before the end 2022, go back into your account under the 2023 plan year and make sure the information and selected plan is active for the 2023 plan year.
For example, you enrolled in a health plan for 2022 that is not being offered in 2023. Your account may not have been passively renewed into an alternative plan for 2023 because you enrolled under a Special Enrollment Period. You may have to actively select a plan for 2023 by December 27 so it will be effective January 1, 2023.