Georgia Gets ACA Extension Thanks To Hurricane Irma
Consumers hoping to buy individual health care plans on healthcare.gov have until Wednesday, December 18, at 3 a.m. ET to sign up.
Andrew Harnik / Associated Press file
Georgia residents have until Dec. 31 to sign up for health insurance on the federal Marketplace exchange, because the state was impacted by Hurricane Irma.
The federal deadline of Dec. 15 was extended for states impacted by hurricanes like “Texas, Florida, Louisiana, or other state meeting the level of ‘individual assistance’ or ‘public assistance’ by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),” according to the Healthcare.gov website.
Georgia qualified as one of those other states because the coastal area was hit by Hurricane Irma and a state of emergency was declared for the entire state due to tropical storm winds.
For advocates who support the Affordable Care Act the extension to sign up for insurance coverage was a bit of a surprise, but it was also welcome news.
“It’s tough timing to get the word out, because of the holidays, but we are going to let our partners know, especially those who serve people who may qualify for marketplace coverage,” said Laura Colbert with Georgians for a Healthy Future.
Georgians who take advantage of the extension must prove that they lived in the state when Irma hit in early September.
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