Announcements

New Information from the IRS on Tax Relief for People who Received help paying for premium costs through the Health Connector in 2020

Were you were enrolled in coverage through the Health Connector in 2020 and received advance payments of the premium tax credit to help lower the cost of your health insurance premium? If so, the American Rescue Plan—signed into law on March 11, 2021—provides tax relief for people who received more premium tax credits in 2020 than they qualified for and would normally have to pay back when filing their 2020 tax return. For 2020 only, these excess tax credits do not need to be repaid. This relief may affect how you complete your 2020 tax return, which is due May 17, 2021. On April 9, 2021, the IRS released new information explaining how consumers can receive this tax relief, including if they have already filed their tax return or still need to file. If you have any questions about this tax relief, You can find this new information on the IRS website now. If you have questions about your Health Connector coverage, call customer service at 1-877-623-6765 (TTY 711 for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled). Or contact a Navigator near you.

National Coalition Launches “Get Covered 2021” Urging America To Mask Up and Get Insured—Focus on COVID And Coverage For 16 Million Americans Eligible for Financial Help Now

“Get Covered” is a call to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID as well as a public statement that you want your family and friends to get health insurance. COVID underscores why insurance matters - but not just because of the pandemic - coverage can help people stay healthy and provide a pathway to care for diseases like cancer, diabetes, and many others that impact people’s Get Covered 2021 will focus on getting the estimated 16 million uninsured people across America eligible for financial help – through their Affordable Care Act marketplace, or free coverage through Medicaid – insurance coverage The Get Covered 2021 coalition announced that December 10th will be Get Covered America Day -- a day of action where everyone will be encouraged to keep wearing their mask and post a picture of themselves on social media, including a personal message about how friends, family and neighbors can get financial help for insurance now, sharing the website GetCovered2021.org and using the hashtag #GetCovered2021. WASHINGTON DC, SACRAMENTO, CA AND FRANKFORT, KY - Today, a broad coalition of states, consumer and patient groups, and health care providers from across the country launched Get Covered 2021, a new national initiative designed to help uninsured Americans enroll into health insurance and promote COVID-19 safe practices (see Attachment 1. Coalition Partners) As part of today’s launch, Get Covered 2021 announced tools and information available through a new website www.GetCovered2021.org, where Americans will be connected to their state or federal marketplace [...]

Important Update & Upcoming Maintenance

The Health Connector and MassHealth application will undergo planned maintenance Friday, July 31 at 8 p.m. through Sunday, August 2 at 12 p.m. During this maintenance period, you will not be able to access the application. Please plan ahead if you are applying for the first time, or need to update an existing account. Why is this maintenance happening? The Massachusetts Health Connector and MassHealth application is moving to a new website address. Starting Sunday, August 2, 2020, our new application web address will be at https://mahix.org/individual. If you already have an account, don’t worry. Your information is not changing. You won’t have to create a new login, all of your application information will be the same, and your enrollment information will not be impacted. This move does not impact Health Connector for Business. To make this happen, the website will be unavailable July 31 at 8:00 p.m. through August 2 at 12:00 p.m. and you won’t be able to complete the following activities during this time: Apply for health coverage Update your account information Upload documents View Health Connector notices Shop for a ConnectorCare or Health Connector plan Payments to the Health Connector If you are a Health Connector member and want to pay your premium, you will be able to do so through the guest payment portal. Important If you need to complete any actions that will be unavailable during the maintenance time as we move, we kindly ask that you do so before July 31 at 8:00 p.m. or wait until the application [...]

Health Connector extends enrollment an additional month to July 23rd for uninsured individuals

On June 22, 2020, the Health Connector announced in an Administrative Bulletin an extension to the special enrollment period in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency through July 23, 2020 to assist uninsured Massachusetts residents seeking health coverage. (The extended enrollment period was previously set to end June 23.) If you need to apply for coverage, you can start by creating an application → If you apply coverage under this special enrollment, the deadlines to complete enrollment are as follows: Coverage Start Date Enrollment Deadline July 1 June 23 August 1 July 23 Please note that if you are eligible to enroll due to normal special enrollment period rules, you can select the one that applies when you complete your application. If you or family members are eligible for MassHealth programs, you can apply any time of the year. Your coverage may start sooner than the 1st of the month. If you need help, you can call customer service at 1-877-623-6765 (or TTY: 711 for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled). Business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

Health Connector extends enrollment to June 23rd for uninsured individuals

On May 21, 2020, the Health Connector announced in an Administrative Bulletin an extension to the extended enrollment period in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency through June 23, 2020 to assist uninsured Massachusetts residents seeking health coverage. (The extended enrollment period was previously set to end May 25.) If you need to apply for coverage, you can start by creating an application → If you apply coverage under this special enrollment, the deadlines to complete enrollment are as follows: Coverage Start Date Enrollment Deadline June 1 May 23 July 1 June 23 Please note that if you are eligible to enroll due to normal special enrollment period rules, you can select the one that applies when you complete your application. If you or family members are eligible for MassHealth programs, you can apply any time of the year. Your coverage may start sooner than the 1st of the month. If you need help, you can call customer service at 1-877-623-6765 (or TTY: 711 for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled). Business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

Massachusetts Health Connector extends enrollment an additional 30 days for uninsured individuals

On March 11, 2020, the Health Connector previously announced an extended, 45-day enrollment period through April 25 to assist uninsured Massachusetts residents seeking health coverage. The special enrollment period has now been extended an additional 30 days to May 25, 2020. If you need to apply for coverage, you can start by creating an application → If you apply coverage under this special enrollment, the deadlines to complete enrollment are as follows: Coverage Start Date Enrollment Deadline May 1 April 23 June 1 May 23 July 1 May 25 Please note that if you are eligible to enroll due to normal special enrollment period rules, you can select the one that applies when you complete your application. If you or family members are eligible for MassHealth programs, you can apply any time of the year. Your coverage may start sooner than the 1st of the month. If you need help, you can call customer service at 1-877-623-6765 (or TTY: 711 for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled). Business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

Important Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates and reminders

During this important time, we want to let you know that we are making every effort to make sure there will be no interruption in service for our members on account of the current coronavirus health crisis. All actions that members need to complete to maintain coverage are still available—such as making payments, sending documents, and updating account information. However, to protect people’s safety, our walk-in centers are closed until further notice. Our call center will stay open, but it may be operating with longer wait times as we work to help members. We’re asking all members to use our online resources as much as possible in the coming days to reduce exposure to other people in Massachusetts and help us keep our call center services as available to as many people as possible. Online resources for members How to pay online or by mail Upload documents online Update account information online Please update your information if your income has dropped We know that many people might not be able to work the same number of hours or make as much money as they normally do because their work is affected by changes related to the coronavirus. For this reason, it’s very important for Health Connector members to update their account information if they find their income has changed. If you are making less money than usual, you may be able to qualify for lower-cost health insurance. Learn how to update your income information online now → If you know anyone who [...]

Health Connector Walk-in Centers Closed Due to Coronavirus Concerns

UPDATE, January 10, 2022: The Worcester Walk-in Center has now reopened. Help at the walk-in center is available on a first-come, first-serve basis, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please note that face coverings are required at all times while in the buildings. Please also follow social distancing signage. UPDATE, December 13, 2021: The Boston and Springfield Walk-in Centers have reopened. Help at the walk-in center is available on a first-come, first-serve basis, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Boston and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Springfield. Please note that face coverings are required at all times while in the buildings. Please also follow social distancing signage. Summary: The Boston and Springfield walk-in centers have reopened as of December 13, 2021 Walk-in centers in Brockton and Worcester will remain closed until further notice If you need help signing up for coverage, call customer service at 1-877-623-6765 (TTY 711 for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled.) In-person payments will not be accepted at any closed walk-in location until further notice. You can sign into your account to make a payment or to mail a check or money order to the address included in your invoice. Massachusetts Health Connector walk-in centers in Brockton, Springfield, an Worcester are closed until further notice due to concerns about the coronavirus. We have taken this action with the health and safety of our members and employees as our top priority. If you need assistance with [...]

Important information about coverage for coronavirus (COVID-19)

Insurers in Massachusetts, including those that offer health plans through the Health Connector, are now required to cover the cost of testing and treatment for members who may be affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) has asked health insurance companies to take several steps to help protect people in Massachusetts against coronavirus, including the following: Set up telephone helplines to answer questions about coronavirus Make telehealth services more available and at a lower cost to members. This is so members can be seen and treated by a doctor without having to go into an office whenever possible Remove coronavirus testing and treatment costs (like co-pays) when medically needed More information Contact your health insurance company if you have specific questions about your benefits Learn more about the coronavirus from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Learn more about the DOI guidelines for health insurers in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Health Connector offers extended enrollment for uninsured individuals to ease coronavirus fears

On March 30, the special enrollment deadline was extended an additional month to May 25, 2020. Learn more → BOSTON – March 11, 2020 – To ensure everyone who wants access to covered coronavirus services has it, the Massachusetts Health Connector announced today that uninsured residents can apply and get into coverage through a 45-day window running until April 25. On March 6, the Division of Insurance announced that Massachusetts health insurers are now required to cover the cost of testing and treatment for members who may be affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19), including not charging co-pays or deductibles for those services. The Health Connector’s decision to open enrollment to anyone without coverage ensures Massachusetts residents concerned about contracting coronavirus can access necessary services without cost barriers. Additionally, the Health Connector will be delivering to current members information about the Division of Insurance guidance, reassuring members that coronavirus-related services are available at no cost. “The coronavirus represents a significant and growing public health threat, and the Massachusetts Health Connector is committed to making sure residents have access to testing, treatment and other related services as necessary,” said Louis Gutierrez, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Health Connector. “With 97 percent of residents covered, almost everyone in Massachusetts understands the ongoing value and need for coverage, but if anyone is considering signing up now, we encourage them to do.” Typically, the only time of year anyone can newly access coverage is during Open Enrollment, which runs from November through January. However, because of [...]