Dive Brief:
- Although the upcoming enrollment season is still a few months away, hundreds of thousands of ACA healthcare customers need to complete their tax filings in the next few days if they want their subsidies to continue when they renew their coverage.
- It is estimated that 1.8 million households that received subsidies last year either still haven't filed their tax returns or are considered incomplete because they left out paperwork.
- Since it takes time for the IRS to coordinate with healthcare exchanges, insurers and advocacy groups advise returning health plan customers to file their taxes correctly by Aug. 31.
Dive Insight:
It's not just enrollees who should be concerned about tax procrastination. Insurers want to make sure customers don't blame them if they start getting higher bills because they simply waited for their subsidies to renew as they were. Enrollment begins Nov. 1 and insurers generally bill for January in the month of December.
"You don't want to get to December and realize that your subsidy amount isn't there," Clare Krusing, spokeswoman for America's Health Insurance Plans, told U.S. News & World Report.
Federal officials have tried to minimize the issue by warning late tax filers and implementing a backstop that will help those who file late, but not those who neglect to file at all. Those who file late will be allowed to attest that they did so and continue to receive their subsidies without interruption.