Nevada Obamacare customers will have to re-enroll

Silver State Health Insurance officials say all 32,000 people who signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Healthcare Act have to re-enroll next month to continue coverage in 2015.

Shawna DeRousse of the exchange told the Economic Forum Friday insurance carriers are already sending letters to their customers telling them how to go about doing that.

“That’s the message we have to get out there so that everybody understands they have to come back,” she said.

The reason for the re-enrollment is the state is converting from its own enrollment system to a federally supported state exchange.

They will be able to enroll in the same insurance plan they already have or select a different plan if their needs have changed. All of the insurance carriers on the Nevada list this year have now signed up with the federal exchange. In addition, she said one new carrier has joined Nevada’s list.

Open enrollment begins Nov. 15. Existing customers should go to Info.nevadahealthlink.com for detailed information on how to re-enroll.

Those who fail to re-enroll, DeRousse said, will lose the federal subsidy they are currently getting through the Affordable Care Act to help pay for their health insurance.

To have health insurance effective Jan. 1 2015, Nevadans must re-enroll in the same or a different plan by Dec. 15.

They can do so through the Nevada exchange or by contacting their existing health insurance carrier directly for assistance.

Effective Nov. 3, they can also visit NevadaHealthLink.com/gethelp to find a broker or “navigator” who can assist them in enrolling or re-enrolling in health insurance.

One difference from the first time people enrolled through Nevada’s exchange is people must pay their first premium directly to the insurance company, not to the health insurance marketplace. Follow the instructions from your insurance company about how and when to make the payment.

DeRousse told the forum there are an estimated 78,000 people eligible for a plan through the exchange so about half of them are currently signed up.

The state exchange handled not only those who qualified for a subsidized qualified health plan but those who qualified for Medicaid. DeRousse said the Nevada exchange signed up 150,000 people for Medicaid.

Those individuals, she said, do not have to re-enroll. They will still be covered by Medicaid next year unless their employment status changes and they no longer qualify for that program.

“Every single day we’re working on the transition, making sure this is going as smoothly as possible,” she said.