Utahns, still need health insurance? There are options

For months, consumers have been told that their last chance to buy health insurance was March 31, the deadline for enrolling in the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) online insurance marketplace.

That's generally true -- with a few major caveats bound to befuddle consumers.

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Still confused?

With a few exceptions, the marketplace www.HealthCare.Gov is closed until the next sign-up period, starting Nov. 15. But some insurers, such as Arches Health Plan, Humana and SelectHealth, are selling Obamacare policies off the exchange through April 15 to consumers stymied by technical difficulties on the site.

Additionally, SelectHealth is marketing limited, stopgap health plans year-round, a boon to procrastinators who might otherwise be locked out of coverage for the year.

But those plans are temporary, bare-bones and devoid of new consumer protections, which means they're not ACA-compliant. Buy one and you'll still pay the uninsured tax penalty.

'We're open with all customers. We tell them it's not an ACA-compliant plan,' said SelectHealth spokeswoman Carrie Brown. 'We wouldn't steer anyone toward it unless it was something they wanted.'

Elsewhere across the country, insurers have gone into hibernation.

Consumers could once buy individual policies any time of the year, even on Christmas Eve. Now, with limited exceptions, individual policies are sold only during open enrollment windows, much like Medicare.

A federal rule frees insurers to continue selling individual ACA-compliant plans off the exchange, provided they don't discriminate against sick people. But few are taking that path since it opens them to risk through adverse selection, or people waiting until they get sick to sign up.

SelectHealth's 'transitional' plans do discriminate; those with pre-existing conditions may not qualify. They offer protection against major illness or injury for 30 days, or up to six months, but don't cover prescription drugs, preventive care, mental health or maternity care.

Such plans are allowed under federal rule, provided they're intended to last only a short time, said Michael Fierberg, regional spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

SelectHealth has offered transitional plans for years, a remnant of the days when insurers could cherry-pick healthy customers.

'If you think we turned a corner in 2014, that all insurance for sale after that would be guaranteed, ACA-quality coverage, you're wrong,' said Jason Stevenson, communications director for the Utah Health Policy Project.

Arches, one of two Utah insurers selling ACA-quality coverage through Tuesday, hopes to capture the countless Utahns who 'got stuck somewhere in process' of enrolling on HealthCare.Gov, said Judi Hilman, the health co-op's vice president of consumer engagement.

The marketplace itself remains open through that date for individuals who tried registering before March 31 and hit roadblocks.

'It's keeping us busy,' Hilman said. 'We're doing more enrollment now than almost ever.'

If the parade of moving deadlines is confusing, just wait - there's more.

If you move to a new state, have a baby, get married or lose job-based or public health benefits such as Medicaid, you're eligible to enroll in www.HealthCare.Gov.

But you'll only have 60 days from the time of such 'qualifying life events' to pick a plan, which has consumer advocates worried some people will slip through the cracks.