UPDATE — July 30, 2023: Nevada regulators have also now announced that Friday Health Plans coverage will terminate on August 31. A special enrollment period continues through October 31, 2023, but enrollees must select a new plan by August 31 in order to avoid a gap in coverage.
UPDATE – July 18, 2023: Colorado regulators have announced that Friday Health Plans policies in Colorado will terminate August 31, 2023. A special enrollment period began July 17 and continues through October 31. In order to avoid a gap in coverage, enrollees would need to select a new plan by August 31.
Colorado’s process differs from other states in a couple of notable ways: Two carriers (Kaiser and Denver Health) have agreed to honor accumulated out-of-pocket costs for people transferring from Friday Health Plans. And an August 1 effective date for new coverage is available for people who are having difficulties getting access to care with their Friday Health Plans coverage. (Enrollments must be completed by July 31 to utilize that option.)
Friday Health Plans, which offers coverage in five states, is winding down its business operations. Thousands of enrollees need to select new plans in the coming weeks to avoid becoming uninsured.
Friday Health Plans of Georgia has been placed into receivership, and its health policies terminate on July 31, 2023. Friday Health Plans of Oklahoma, Friday Health Plans of North Carolina, Friday Health Plans of Nevada, and Friday Health Plans of Colorado have also been placed into receivership, with coverage ending on August 31, 2023. Enrollees will need to continue paying their Friday Health Plans premiums through those dates to maintain coverage until the plans terminate at the end of July or August, depending on the state.
Policyholders in these states will need to select new health insurance plans if they want to avoid coverage gaps for the remainder of 2023.
Learn more about what to do when your insurer stops offering coverage.
What is the deadline for Friday Health Plans policyholders to select new coverage in Georgia?
If you have Friday Health Plans coverage in Georgia, your policy’s coverage will end July 31, 2023. A special enrollment period for current enrollees began June 1 and continues through September 29.
To avoid a gap in coverage, you need to select a new plan by July 31. That will allow your new plan to take effect without a gap in coverage on August 1. If you wait until August or September to enroll, you’ll go a month or two without any insurance.
How will Friday Health Plans coverage termination affect customers in Oklahoma and North Carolina?
If you have Friday Health Plans coverage in Oklahoma or North Carolina, your policy will end August 31, 2023. A special enrollment period began July 2, and continues through October 30. To avoid a gap in coverage, you need to select a new plan by August 31.
(The special enrollment period due to loss of coverage runs for 60 days before and after the coverage termination date, which is why the windows don’t align precisely with the start and end of the calendar months.)
Automatic re-enrollment via the federal Marketplace (the exchange used in Georgia, Oklahoma, and North Carolina) is unavailable for mid-year plan terminations. So it’s essential for enrollees to select their own replacement coverage to avoid becoming uninsured.
To be eligible for subsidies, you must obtain your new plan through your state’s Marketplace / exchange. (Subsidized on-exchange enrollment and plan changes can also be made through an enhanced direct enrollment entity.) If you’re certain you aren’t interested in receiving subsidies, you can purchase new coverage directly from an insurer.
Is there a special enrollment period for Friday Health Plans policyholders in Colorado and Nevada?
Yes. If you have coverage with Friday Health Plans in Colorado, you will be able to buy replacement Marketplace coverage during a special enrollment period that began July 17 and continues through October 31. If you have Friday Health Plans coverage in Nevada, your special enrollment period began July 25 and continues through October 31.
In both states, new policies must be selected by August 31 in order to avoid a gap in coverage.
What will happen to Friday Health Plans customers who have already paid out-of-pocket costs this year?
In four of the five states, it is unlikely that your deductible and other out-of-pocket spending will transfer to new policies that take effect mid-year. People who have already paid out-of-pocket costs in 2023 under Friday Health Plans policies in Georgia, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Nevada will likely find they are starting over at $0 in out-of-pocket spending under their new policies.
But Colorado is an exception, however: As noted above, two carriers, Kaiser and Denver Health, have agreed to honor accumulated out-of-pocket costs for people transferring from Friday Health Plans.
Louise Norris is an independent individual health insurance broker who has been writing about health insurance and health reform since 2006. She has written dozens of opinions and educational pieces about the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org since 2013. Her state health exchange updates are regularly cited by media who cover health reform and by other health insurance experts.