How Customers receive Form 1095-A

How Customers receive Form 1095-A

Connect for Health Colorado is mailing 1095-A forms to customers now, so they should receive the form by the first week in February. The forms will also be available in the customer’s MyDocuments tab.

Your customer received Form 1095-A: What is next?

If the customer receives a Form 1095-A from Connect for Health Colorado, and the information appears to be correct, they can proceed to use it to complete their tax return. Customersfill out Form 8962 if the customer received advance premium tax credits or wants to claim premium tax credits.

If the customer believes the information in their Form 1095-A is wrong, direct them to call the Service Center at 1-855-PLANS-4-YOU (855-752-6749) right away. The 2017 tax filing deadline is April 17, 2018, and a correction could take up to 8 weeks. The customer should be prepared to provide the Service Center rep with whatever the customer believes are thecorrect values for each month of 2017; the customer will be asked to provide supporting documents within 30 days.

The supporting document(s) needed will depend upon the correction(s) being requested, such as credit card or bank statements proving premium payments, a utility bill supporting an address change, or a government-issued ID or document supporting a correction in date of birth; the Service Center will help identify types of supporting documents needed for the correction.

The Service Center will initiate the correction process once the customer provides the supporting document(s); if the supporting document(s) are not provided within 30 days, the member will be at risk for not receiving the corrected 1095-A and the ticket may be closed. If the customer needs more than 30 days to provide the supporting documents, the customer should call the Service Center to request more time. If the ticket is closed, the customer can call to start the process again. This includes those customers whose 1095-A forms show an error such as:

• Months of coverage are incorrect for one or more household members
• Incorrectly showing zero advance premium tax credit for one or more months in 2017
• Not reflecting an applicable married, filing jointly status for 2017

·       A qualified life change event (QLCE) for 2017

• If the client updated their determination for 2017 and Form 1095-A shows the advance premium tax credit was cancelled for the entire year.

FTC Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “tax identity theft happens when someone uses your Social Security number to get a tax refund or a job.”

Both consumers and small businesses can increase their education and awareness by participating in this year’sFTC Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week (please see here https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0029-tax-identity-theft-awareness-week) where consumers will learn about tax-related identity theft, IRS imposter scams, how to protect yourself, and how to recover if you become a victim.

Small businesses will learn about protecting sensitive business and customer data including practical identity safety practices for your business. Small business will also learn about tax-related identity theft, imposter scams that target businesses, practical cybersecurity practices for small business, and data breach response.

In addition to, and separate from, the FTC Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, consumers need to be concerned with the Equifax data breach event and fraudulent income tax returns.

As most consumers know, Equifax announced last September their data breach event affecting 143 million U.S. consumers where information breached included names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver's license numbers – all the personally identifiable information (PII) that ID theft criminals need to file fraudulent tax returns.FTC Tx Identty Thef Awarenees Wee

CHP+ Reauthorized

CHP+ Reauthorized

As you may know, we got the welcome news yesterday that Congress has reauthorized the Children’s Health Insurance Plan, known in Colorado as Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+). The reauthorization is for six years. The governor has issued a statement,  and the department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) posted an update.  HCPF plans to notify clients in the coming days. HCPF has posted this resourcefor reference. Please see the following websites for additional information:

• Connect for Health Colorado CHP+ website
• HCPF Future of CHP+ website

CHP+ Reauthorized

CHP+ Reauthorized

As you may know, we got the welcome news yesterday that Congress has reauthorized the Children’s Health Insurance Plan, known in Colorado as Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+). The reauthorization is for six years. The governor has issued a statement,  and the department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) posted an update.  HCPF plans to notify clients in the coming days. HCPF has posted this resourcefor reference. Please see the following websites for additional information:

• Connect for Health Colorado CHP+ website
• HCPF Future of CHP+ website

Colorado Tax Form Mailing

Tax Form Mailing

We are in the process of an important mailing of our own these days. Our customers will start receiving their Forms 1095-A next week. The form reports coverage dates and tax credit assistance levels to support them in filing their 2017 tax return. Copies of the form are also uploaded to online accounts.

Connect for Health Colorado® Reports Plan Selection Totals for 2018 Nearly Matching Longer 2017 Enrollment Period

DENVER — More than 165,000 Coloradans selected healthcare coverage for 2018 through the state health insurance Marketplace by the close of Open Enrollment, according to new data released today by Connect for Health Colorado®.

“These are positive results that show us holding steady and in line with our targets for the year,” said Connect for Health Colorado CEO Kevin Patterson. “Despite the uncertainty that created some confusion in the market, we have seen volumes that nearly match last year’s longer Open Enrollment Period. I am happy to see so many families and individuals put this protection for their health and financial well-being in place for the year. We will be reporting our results in coming weeks in our annual End of Open Enrollment Report.”

The Open Enrollment Period for Coloradans who buy their own health insurance was 22 days shorter this year than last year’s period ¬— one that was extended three days past the original deadline of January 31, 2017, to accommodate a last-minute rush in sign-ups. The next Open Enrollment Period will begin November 1, 2018.

By the close of this year’s Open Enrollment, Coloradans had selected 165,777 medical insurance plans, an increase of 3 percent over the 160,968 medical plan selections for same date in 2017. When the last Open Enrollment Period closed on Feb. 3, 2017, the number of plan selections had reached 172,361.

Enrollments remain open through March 1, 2018, for anyone whose 2017 health plan was not offered for 2018. In addition, Coloradans who experience a qualifying life change event, such as marriage, divorce, having a child, losing their employer-sponsored insurance, or those moving into Colorado, have 60 days from that event to enroll in 2018 coverage.

Among the 2018 plan selections, 23 percent are by customers who are new to Connect for Health Colorado and 77 percent are renewing customers.

About Connect for Health Colorado
Connect for Health Colorado is a public, non-profit entity established by the Colorado General Assembly in 2011 to create a health insurance Marketplace. It opened for business on Oct. 1, 2013, for individuals, families and small employers to compare and buy health insurance and is the only place to apply for financial assistance in the form of tax credits to help lower the monthly cost of premiums. Customers can shop online; get help by phone or online chat from Customer Service Center representatives; and access free, in-person assistance from a statewide network of certified Brokers, community-based Health Coverage Guides or Application Counselors. For more information: www.connectforhealthco.com

Open Enrollment for 2018 is over unless you have an Event Change during the year

Open Enrollment Period. The yearly period when people can enroll in a health insurance plan. Open Enrollment for 2018 is over, but you may still be able to enroll in a Marketplace health insurance plan for 2018 if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.

Children’s health insurance has become a political hostage

The Children’s Health Insurance Program is enduring an unprecedented crisis: More than 100 days ago, funding for a program that covers 9 million kids technically expired. Republicans in Congress haven’t rushed to extend it long-term — not until they could get something in return.

CHIP is ostensibly among the most popular, most bipartisan parts of the social safety net, with proven benefits for children’s health and the financial well-being of their families. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in November found extending its funding was the American public’s top legislative priority.

But it has been left to twist in the wind while families receive “devastating” letters from their states about the program’s possible end. CHIP funding was expiring at the end of September, but Republicans set it aside that month to pursue a last-ditch run at repealing Obamacare. Then in November, the House passed a CHIP extension, which would have cut Medicare and Obamacare funding to appease their most conservative members and cover the then-$8 billion price tag. Now, after the repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate in the Republican tax bill, Congress could extend CHIP for a full six years at no cost to the government — and it would in fact save the government money if they extended it further.

So Republicans, after months of criticism and a stalemate over how to pay for CHIP, have decided to turn the tables: They attached a six-year CHIP extension to their short-term spending bill in an attempt to deter Democrats from shutting down the federal government this week over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which the two parties still haven’t agree on how to fix.

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Leader McConnell

✔@SenateMajLdr

#Senate Democrats have a choice to make. This should be a no-brainer...

10:45 AM - Jan 19, 2018

Rewriting The Rules On Health Care For The Poor

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rewriting the rules on health care for the poor, the Trump administration said Thursday it will allow states to require “able-bodied” Medicaid recipients to work, a hotly debated first in the program’s half-century history.

Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said requiring work or community involvement can make a positive difference in people’s lives and in their health. The goal is to help people move from public assistance into jobs that provide health insurance. “We see people moving off of Medicaid as a good outcome,” she said.

But advocates said work requirements will become one more hoop for low-income people to jump through, and many could be denied needed coverage because of technicalities and challenging new paperwork. Lawsuits are expected as individual states roll out work requirements.

CHP+ funding in Colorado

Senator Michael Bennet 261 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Bennet, The Connect for Health Colorado Board of Directors is writing in support of a long-term CHP+ funding authorization. CHP+ provides health insurance for over 75,000 children in Colorado and nearly 800 pregnant women. Connect for Health Colorado has been preparing for the potential termination of the program, which will require many enrollees currently in CHP+ to transition their coverage to private health insurance through the Marketplace with Advanced Premium Tax Credits and Cost-Share Reductions if they are to maintain healthcare coverage. In addition to the disruption and expense to those Colorado families, we expect to incur at least $484,000 in costs assisting enrollment of a high percentage of these enrollees in private coverage should CHP+ termination notices be sent to enrollees. We also anticipate the need to terminate their private coverage and transition them back to CHP+ if funding for the program is reauthorized. We appreciate your consideration of this request.