Dive Brief:

• The federal government has extended this past Tuesday's deadline for full-year health insurance in 2016 under the Affordable Care Act, according to the New York Times.
• The extension, however, is brief, as Americans who want coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2016, via the federal healthcare exchange have until 11:59 Pacific time (2:59 am Eastern time) today (12/17), to get covered via Healthcare.gov, the online portal.
• In addition, consumers missing the extended deadline for 2016 in full have until Jan. 31, for coverage starting on March 1, and those enrolling by Jan. 15 can get coverage that starts on Feb. 1, according to the Times.

Dive Insight:

For HR leaders at small-to-medium employers that do not offer healthcare benefits, it might be a good idea to let employees know about the immediacy of those deadlines, maybe by using social media, an email blast or company intranet.

As the Times article notes, the penalties for not enrolling are rising, with the penalty in 2016 at $695 per adult or 2.5% of household income, whichever is greater. That is almost double from 2015.

The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that in many markets plans are available with annual premiums that are lower than the penalty. So, even expensive high-deductible plans that come with out-of-pocket costs would be a better option than just eating the $695 for nothing, according to the Times.

“Why would you flush $695, if you didn’t have to?” Karen Pollitz, a health policy specialist with the Kaiser, told the Times.