Madison, WI—The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) is holding informational sessions across the state in the form of town hall meetings in an effort to provide a forum for citizens to gather information about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 2017 open enrollment and “auto re-enrollment.”
“Wisconsin is anticipating 37,160 residents to lose individual health insurance coverage in 2017 due to insurers exiting the exchange, also known as the Federally Facilitated Market Place (FFM), or scaling back on previously serviced counties,” said Commissioner Ted Nickel. “These consumers will unfortunately endure the harms of ‘auto re-enrollment’ unless they understand their options moving forward. To alleviate confusion, we will be traveling the state to provide information on the 2017 open enrollment and strongly encourage consumers who will be affected by ‘auto re-enrollment’ to opt-out and shop for health care coverage either on or off the exchange.”
This year, open enrollment in the ACA runs from November 1, 2016, until January 31, 2017. Consumers seeking individual coverage should sign up before January 31 or risk being locked out of the individual insurance market until 2018. Of course, consumers facing a loss of their group coverage or other special situations may be eligible for special enrollment periods.
Auto Re-enrollment and How to Opt-Out
In cases where a consumer’s current health insurer is exiting the market and the policy was purchased through the federal exchange, the federal government will assign the consumer to a new health insurer if the consumer doesn’t purchase coverage through the exchange. This process is called “auto re-enrollment.” In order to ensure enrollment, the consumer’s personal information will be sent from one insurer to the other insurer without the consumer’s consent. To prevent automatic enrollment for 2017 without enrolling in a new plan, log into your HealthCare.gov account between November 1 and December 15, 2016, and select your 2016 application—NOT your 2017 application. On the “My Coverage” page of your 2016 application, you will see a box near the bottom that explains how to prevent automatic enrollment for 2017. More information is available at the following Web site: https://www.healthcare.gov/keep-or-change-plan/automatically-enrolled/.
2017 Interactive Coverage Map Now Available Online
OCI provides access to an interactive map that shows all the carriers available in each Wisconsin county and a link to the company Web site to explore plan options. The Health Insurer Map is a record of health insurance companies’ marketing practices as reported to the Commissioner of Insurance in rate fillings. Inclusion on this list is NOT an implicit or explicit endorsement by OCI. For access to the Health Insurer Map please visithttps://oci.wi.gov/Pages/Consumers/FindHealthInsurer.aspx.
Town Hall Meetings
While ACA is a federal law, it is OCI’s role to protect and educate consumers about their responsibilities and how they may be impacted. Staff will be available to provide information highlighting the most important issues people should be aware of. They will also be available to answer questions. These 90-minute town hall meetings are open to the general public and media.
The meetings will be held on the following dates and locations:
| Tuesday, October 25, 2016 | Eau Claire, WI Eau Claire Public Library 400 Eau Claire Street 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday, October 25, 2016 | La Crosse, WI La Crosse Public Library 800 Main Street 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
| Thursday, October 27, 2016 | Milwaukee, WI UW-Milwaukee Student Union 2200 East Kenwood Boulevard Room 191 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. |
| Thursday, October 27, 2016 | Madison, WI Madison College 1701 Wright Street Health Building, Room 311 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. |
| Friday, October 28, 2016 | Green Bay, WI Northeast Wisconsin Technical College 2740 West Mason Street 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday, November 9, 2016 | Tomahawk, WI Tomahawk Public Library 300 West Lincoln Avenue 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. |
| Friday, November 11, 2016 | Wausau, WI Wausau North Central Technical College 1000 West Campus Drive 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. |
OCI has long been committed to public education and serving as a resource for individuals, families and employers across the state. The agency has a responsibility to ensure consumers of health insurance are aware of state and federal laws that may impact them.
Created by the Legislature in 1870, Wisconsin’s Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) was vested with broad powers to ensure that the insurance industry responsibly and adequately met the insurance needs of Wisconsin citizens. Today, OCI’s mission is to lead the way in informing and protecting the public and responding to its insurance needs.