On March 25, the Pennie Board of Directors voted to extend the current COVID-19 Special Open Enrollment Period to August 15, 2021, aligning with the federal extension which was announced earlier this week. Pennie is currently working to implement operational and technology changes to ensure the availability of savings provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The ARPA provides additional financial assistance with more general tax credits, eliminates the subsidy cliff for those making more than 400% FPL to ensure they pay no more than 8.5% of their income on premiums for the next two years, makes those eligible for unemployment compensation in 2021 eligible to receive the maximum level of tax credits and cost sharing reductions, ensures that those who received excess Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC) in 2020 will not have to pay them back when they file their taxes and customers currently accessing health coverage through COBRA will pay no premiums for their coverage from April through September.
