According to a release from HealthSherpa, starting July 1, 2021, individuals with at least one week of unemployment compensation (UC) in 2021 can enroll in a free Silver plan with an earliest effective date of August 1.

This measure was part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), and you will be able to service any eligible clients through HealthSherpa. In this guide, HealthSherpa covers changes you will see within the agent account, resources for client outreach, and an overview of what you need to know about this measure.

How the unemployment income measure will be incorporated into the HealthSherpa for Agents account

Clients who qualify for unemployment compensation won’t automatically receive these benefits, regardless of whether they attested to receiving UC on their application. They will have to come back and re-submit in order to get a new eligibility notice that lists their updated APTC/CSR.

If clients do not re-submit their applications, they will receive any APTC they should have qualified for back when they file their 2021 federal income taxes. However, CSR benefits are not payable retroactively. Therefore, it’s especially important for households receiving UC to re-submit their applications as soon as possible to ensure they are receiving the maximum benefit they are eligible for.

HealthSherpa plans to release the following changes within the quoter, shopping and application experiences to help agents service their existing and new clients: https://blog.healthsherpa.com/agents/clients-eligible-free-silver-unemployment/

Contact your Cornerstone representative with any questions.