Anyone in Kentucky who bought health insurance last year through now-defunct Kynect is getting a little more time to sign up for coverage. The Department of Health and Human Services and state officials confirmed the extension to WFPL Wednesday.
The new deadline has moved from December 15 to December 31 for coverage starting January 1, 2017.
The Kentucky Department of Insurance requested the extension from the federal government. In order to qualify for the extension, applicants must check the ‘loss of qualifying coverage’ box on the Healthcare.gov application.
March 1, 2017 is the last day to sign up for coverage through the federal exchange, which would start April 1, 2017.
People who did not have health insurance through Kynect previously do not qualify for the extension.
Around 82,000 people in Kentucky had coverage through the state exchange, Kynect, this year.
Gov. Bevin campaigned on dismantling Kynect during last year’s gubernatorial race. After taking office, Bevin said he would dismantle the exchange by the end of 2016 and those currently insured through Kynect would be able to transfer to healthcare.gov.
