Uninsured women who become pregnant won’t be allowed to enroll in Obamacare coverage outside the official signup period, the Obama administration has said.
Advocates for the health care law had pushed the administration to add pregnancy to the list of reasons people may enroll in plans offered on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces throughout the year. Except in the case of a qualifying major life event — including having a baby or going through a divorce — people may only sign up during a specific window of a few months during the year.
The administration doesn’t have the “legal authority” to add pregnancy to the list, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell wrote in a letter to Sen. Patty Murray on Friday.
Burwell also noted that Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program provide maternity coverage for low-income women and allow year-round enrollment.
Young Invincibles, a group that had led the charge in pushing for the change, said they disagreed with Burwell’s assessment.
“The administration has named many extraordinary circumstances qualifying life events for special enrollment, and there’s no reason — legal or otherwise — they cannot do so here,” said the group’s executive director Jen Mishory.
