As Coronavirus Spreads, Workers Could Lean On ACA Coverage Protection

April 3, 2020

Concerns about health care during the coronavirus pandemic are raising the profile of the federal Affordable Care Act, which can help those who have lost their jobs with an option to get insurance.

Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, talked to WBUR’s “Here & Now” host Jeremy Hobson on Friday about efforts to get the federal government to let people have a special enrollment period for coverage plans sold on the ACA marketplaces, as well as the effect massive job layoffs will have on Medicaid.

Rovner pointed out that workers whose insurance was cut off because they lost their jobs are eligible to buy a new plan through the ACA but that consumer advocates are pressing for the marketplaces to reopen to give others who didn’t sign up for coverage last fall an opportunity to reconsider.

Rovner also recently spoke with Lauren Gilger and Steve Goldstein at KJZZ in Phoenix about Gov. Doug Ducey’s unsuccessful request to the federal government to reopen the insurance marketplace in Arizona.

Julie Rovner discussed the denial of Arizona’s request to extend its open enrollment period with KJZZ’s “The Show” on April 1.

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to download.

Copy And Paste To Republish This Story

As Coronavirus Spreads, Workers Could Lean On ACA Coverage Protection

April 3, 2020

Article HTML

<h1>As Coronavirus Spreads, Workers Could Lean On ACA Coverage Protection</h1><p>Concerns about health care during the coronavirus pandemic are raising the profile of the federal Affordable Care Act, which can help those who have lost their jobs with an option to get insurance.</p>
<p>Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, talked to <a href="https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/04/03/coronavirus-affordable-care-act">WBUR’s “Here & Now”</a> host Jeremy Hobson on Friday about efforts to get the federal government to let people have a special enrollment period for coverage plans sold on the ACA marketplaces, as well as the effect massive job layoffs will have on Medicaid.</p>
<p>Rovner pointed out that workers whose insurance was cut off because they lost their jobs are eligible to buy a new plan through the ACA but that consumer advocates are pressing for the marketplaces to reopen to give others who didn’t sign up for coverage last fall an opportunity to reconsider.</p>
	<iframe 
 title="As Coronavirus Spreads, Workers Could Lean On ACA Coverage Protection" aria-label="Podcast title: As Coronavirus Spreads, Workers Could Lean On ACA Coverage Protection"
		id="wpcom-iframe-83c0204448b137e8cba23fceee55ce5d"
		width="100%"
		height="124"
		src="https://embeds.kff.org/protected-iframe/83c0204448b137e8cba23fceee55ce5d"
		scrolling=""
		frameborder="0"
		class="wpcom-protected-iframe"
		>
	</iframe>
	<script type="text/javascript">
		( function() {
			var func = function() {
				var iframe = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-83c0204448b137e8cba23fceee55ce5d')
				if ( iframe ) {
					iframe.onload = function() {
						iframe.contentWindow.postMessage( {
							'msg_type': 'poll_size',
							'frame_id': 'wpcom-iframe-83c0204448b137e8cba23fceee55ce5d'
						}, "https:\/\/embeds.kff.org" );
					}
				}

// Autosize iframe
				var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) {

var origin = document.createElement( 'a' );
					origin.href = e.origin;

// Verify message origin
					if ( 'embeds.kff.org' !== origin.host )
						return;

// Verify message is in a format we expect
					if ( 'object' !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type )
						return;

switch ( e.data.msg_type ) {
						case 'poll_size:response':
							var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id );

if ( iframe && '' === iframe.width )
								iframe.width = '100%';
							if ( iframe && '' === iframe.height )
								iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height );

return;
						default:
							return;
					}
				}

if ( 'function' === typeof window.addEventListener ) {
					window.addEventListener( 'message', funcSizeResponse, false );
				} else if ( 'function' === typeof window.attachEvent ) {
					window.attachEvent( 'onmessage', funcSizeResponse );
				}
			}
			if (document.readyState === 'complete') { func.apply(); /* compat for infinite scroll */ }
			else if ( document.addEventListener ) { document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', func, false ); }
			else if ( document.attachEvent ) { document.attachEvent( 'onreadystatechange', func ); }
		} )();
		</script>
	
<p>Rovner also recently spoke with Lauren Gilger and Steve Goldstein at <a href="https://kjzz.org/content/1512236/duceys-request-affordable-care-act-enrollment-extension-denied">KJZZ</a> in Phoenix about Gov. Doug Ducey’s unsuccessful request to the federal government to reopen the insurance marketplace in Arizona.</p>

<p>Julie Rovner discussed the denial of Arizona’s request to extend its open enrollment period with <a href="https://kjzz.org/content/1512236/duceys-request-affordable-care-act-enrollment-extension-denied">KJZZ’s “The Show”</a> on April 1.</p>
<audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-337843-2" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/04/arizona-aca-show-lg-20200401.mp3?_=2" /><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/04/arizona-aca-show-lg-20200401.mp3">https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/04/arizona-aca-show-lg-20200401.mp3</a></audio>
<p><em>Can’t see the audio player? <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/04/arizona-aca-show-lg-20200401.mp3">Click here to download.</a></em></p>

We encourage organizations to republish our content, free of charge. Here’s what we ask:

You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our californiahealthline.org site. If possible, please include the original author(s) and “California Healthline” in the byline. Please preserve the hyperlinks in the story.

Have questions? Let us know.

From The California Health Care Foundation

Medi-Cal Medi-Cal Facts and Figures – 2024 Edition

Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, is the state’s health insurance program for Californians with low incomes, including children, people with disabilities, and seniors. Get the latest data on this program, which covers one in three Californians.

Health Policy Survey Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity in California — 2024 Edition

Disparities among historically marginalized groups in California occur across many demographic categories. This Almanac provides data that show how people of color face barriers in accessing health care, often receive suboptimal treatment, and are most likely to experience poor outcomes in the health care system.

Health Policy Survey The 2024 CHCF California Health Policy Survey

Conducted in fall 2023, this survey collected Californian adults’ opinions and experiences on various health care topics, including mental health, medical debt, racial equity, and more.

Related Topics