CMS released a new enrollment flexibility clarifying that the FEMA SEP is relevant to COVID and invoked. They added language to clarify the SEP enrollments can be submitted through agents/brokers or any means of submitting an enrollment.
There has been some confusion around the applicable SEP dates. To clarify, there are two sets of dates:
- March 17 – June 17 (equal to 3 months) for Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B
- March 01 – June 30 (equal to 4 months) for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D.
IMPORTANT: The equitable relief applies to those beneficiaries who were otherwise eligible for IEP, GEP, or SEP, but due to COVID-19 were unable to exercise their enrollment rights. COVID-19 in and of itself is not a trigger for an SEP but, if not for COVID-19, an eligible beneficiary would have been able to enroll in Medicare.
Read the full CMS release here.
Questions? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your rep. We continue to operate under our regular business hours and our experts are committed to providing the answers, resources, and tools you need as we navigate this unusual time.
