Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., has introduced a bill to give people who tried to sign up for health insurance coverage but failed retroactive coverage if they meet certain conditions.
The proposal is similar to the Obama administration request Thursday to health insurers that they cover people even if they have not been able to sign up for coverage through the flawed HealthCare.gov website.
Bustos and Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., introduced the bill. It would require insurers to provide coverage to people retroactive to the start of the year as long as they had tried to enroll by Dec. 23 if they are able to complete that process and pay their premium by Jan. 31.
With the start of the year approaching, people who have seen their current plans canceled — or haven't been able to get the online marketplaces to work for them — are worried about whether they will have coverage Jan. 1.
“This common sense fix I introduced today would ensure people across our region of Illinois, and the country, aren’t unfairly penalized for a situation beyond their control," Bustos said in a statement issued Friday.
Legislation related to the Affordable Care Act is a tough sell in a harshly divided Congress, and other proposals introduced since October haven't moved. Still, lawmakers and the White House have been scrambling to try to deal with the fallout from the health care law's flawed rollout.
In addition to its plea for leniency, the administration also extended coverage for people in a high-risk insurance plan that was scheduled to expire at the end of the year. It will now expire at the end of January. The plan has a few hundred Iowans enrolled in it.
The health insurance industry said Thursday that it would do what it could to help with the transition but warned that continued changes to rules and guidance could exacerbate challenges to the enrollment process.
