Carson City, NV March 31, 2021
The Division of
Insurance (“Division”) encourages all Nevadans to take advantage of the new
saving opportunities offered by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”).
The ARPA, enacted earlier this month, creates more opportunities for Nevadans
to save on health insurance coverage.
“I urge consumers,
especially those who have off-exchange plans, have no insurance or have found
themselves uninsured to start thinking now about how they can benefit from this
new lawbecause
certain benefits in the ARPA have deadlines,” said Insurance Commissioner
Barbara Richardson. “Each month that a consumer does not take advantage of
these new low or no cost opportunities, they are leaving money on the table.”
The ARPA will
lower monthly premium costs; increase subsidy eligibility for consumers making
above the 400% of the Federal Poverty Level; provide options for people who are
on unemployment for $0 premium plans; and it will provide 100% COBRA subsidy
for six months.
Starting April 1
until September 30, 2021, consumers have the option to obtain COBRA insurance
at no premium cost for six months. Prior to the ARPA, COBRA insurance was
available for employees who lost their employer-sponsored coverage because of
an involuntary termination or reduction in hours to remain in that health
coverage under the condition the former employee pay the full premium cost for
the coverage plus an administrative fee, resulting in expensive premiums.
Consumers need to contact their employer or former employer for COBRA coverage.
The Division is
working alongside Nevada’s Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (“Exchange”),
which is the state agency that connects Nevadans to qualified health plans
through the online State Based Exchange (“SBE”) known as Nevada Health Link, to implement
these changes and provide relevant information to consumers.
“All Nevadans, no
matter their circumstances – uninsured, underinsured, insured with on or
off-exchange plans, Nevadans who lost their job, who were not eligible for
financial subsidies before – may benefit from these changes” explained
Commissioner Richardson.
More information
regarding COBRA and other aspects of the ARPA can be found on the Division’s
website at https://doi.nv.gov/Consumers/Health_and_Accident_Insurance/American_Rescue_Plan/ and on Nevada
Health Link’s website at https://www.nevadahealthlink.com/americanrescueplan/.
About
the Nevada Division of Insurance
The State of
Nevada Division of Insurance, a Division of the Nevada Department of Business
and Industry, protects the rights of Nevada consumers and regulates Nevada’s
$18 billion insurance industry. The Division of Insurance has offices in Carson
City and Las Vegas. In 2020, the Division investigated more than 2,300 consumer
complaints, answered over 10,000 inquiries, and recovered over $4.5 million on
behalf of consumers. For more information about the Division of Insurance,
visit DOI.NV.GOV.
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