Dr. Ruiz Urges Extended Grace Period for Initial Healthcare Premium Payment Due to Administrative Delays

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Dr. Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Desert) sent a letter to David Jones, Commissioner for the California Department of Insurance; Diana Dooley, the Secretary of California Health and Human Services; and Peter V. Lee, the Executive Director of Covered California, urging they extend the period for consumers to pay their healthcare premium in a one time, first payment, 30 day grace period. This letter comes after reports of insurance companies being unable to confirm enrollment and send invoices due to administrative delays and a backlog of unprocessed applications causing consumers to miss their first payment deadline.

In the letter, Dr. Ruiz writes: “I want to prevent a situation where these consumers are retroactively denied coverage because they unintentionally missed their first premium payment deadline. In particular, we want to ensure that health plans do not have the option of refusing coverage because of unintentional delays in premium payments.”

Some insurance companies extended first premium payment deadlines to January 22, 2014. These extensions were provided to accommodate the high volume of backlogged applications, as well as give consumers time to submit their first premium. Dr. Ruiz is urging Covered California to negotiate a further extension for consumers to submit their first premium payments for coverage beginning on the first day of the months of February and March 2014 due to the continued backlog.

Click here for full text of the letter.

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