GAINESVILLE, Fla. (September 1, 2015)—Insurance rates for children enrolled in the Florida Healthy Kids Full Pay insurance plan are going to almost double on Oct. 1, 2015. In response, the Health Insurance Marketplace, or “Obamacare,” is extending its Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to allow families impacted by the rate increase to enroll in health insurance on Healthcare.gov.

The Florida Healthy Kids Health Insurance Program is a program that offers low-cost health insurance for children ages 5-18 who are not eligible for Medicaid. Insurance can be as little as $15 a month for those who qualify for subsidized coverage. For families who earn too much to qualify, Healthy Kids offers a full pay program, which is going to increase dramatically.  For example, one of the Florida Healthy Kids Full Pay plans currently costs $153 per month per child. Beginning Oct. 1, 2015, that same plan will now cost $299 per month per child.

The federal government recently announced that full pay families on Healthy Kids will be able to enroll in insurance through the Marketplace so that there will be no gap in insurance coverage for those individuals.

For families who would like assistance with claiming an SEP and reviewing and enrolling in a new plan for their child on Healthcare.gov, there is free help available through the North Central Florida Navigator Program. For more information and to contact a Navigator in your area, visit http://ncfnavigators.org/ or call 352-299-0380.

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