Health Department Rejects Special ACA Enrollment Period for Pregnant Women
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will not allow uninsured women to enroll in Obamacare if they become pregnant outside of the three-month window of open enrollment.
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The current rules allow a woman to sign up for Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage outside of the open enrollment period if she is “having a baby,” but that only takes effect after she gives birth. Even a healthy pregnancy can easily cost $10,000-$20,000 out of pocket, and advocates say that such high costs might make women forgo the prenatal care they need to avoid expensive or even fatal complications.
Burwell, in a response sent Friday, said that HHS does not have “the legal authority to establish pregnancy as an exceptional circumstance.”
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