Nevada residents who didn’t buy health insurance in 2014 and face a tax penalty as a result can avoid a similar situation next year, thanks to a special enrollment period for the state health exchange.
Nevada Health Link, the state-created organization that helps Nevadans find insurance plans based on income, announced the special enrollment period today. It will begin Sunday and run through April 30.
Those eligible include individuals and families who:
• Did not have health insurance in 2014 and are not enrolled through Nevada Health Link for insurance coverage in 2015.
• Will pay or already have paid the fee for not having health insurance when they file or filed their 2014 taxes.
• Did not know about the fee or understand what it meant until after open enrollment ended Feb. 15.
The federal health care law known as the Affordable Care Act requires most U.S. residents to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Individuals who did not qualify for an exemption and went without health coverage in 2014 must pay a fee — $95 per adult or 1 percent of their income, depending what’s greater — when they file their taxes this year. That penalty increases next year to $324 per adult or 2 percent of income.
The special enrollment period does not exempt Nevadans from the 2014 tax penalty. Individuals taking advantage of the special enrollment period must pay the fee, plus pay for the months they were uninsured so far this year.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 73,596 Nevada residents had selected or automatically re-enrolled in health insurance through the exchange marketplace as of Feb. 22.
Nevada residents wishing to take advantage of the special enrollment period can click here. For information in Spanish, click here.