Every year, the department of health and human services in conjunction with the department of justice come up with a fiscal plan in the coordination of rules and regulations of healthcare services. This 2022 year is implanting some of those changes, however, its become a bit messy due to the changes of presidential administrations in 2021.

Each administration had proposed changes to the Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters (NBPP) in the Affordable Care Act. While some of Trump’s changes were abolished to make way for Biden’s regulations, the proposal was finally completed in September of 2021 to be put in place for 2022.

The new 2022 implementations are a cap of $8,700.00 per single person for in-network services and a cap pf $17,400.00 per family. These apply to most plans, but not all like short-term plans, grandmothered/fathered plans. Also, for Medicare Parts A & B, there is no out-of-pocket cap.

The open enrollment windows for coverage through places like – https://www.healthcare.gov – have been extended to mid-January. For the future years, this new change will be permanent – open enrollment being allotted from November 1 through January 15.

Another new rule is year-round enrollment opportunities for low-income: $19,320 for a single person and $39,750 for a family – or 150% of the federal poverty level. However, this implemented change may not go forward in future years. Although currently, Congress is discussing it to make it a permanent change.

The 2022 rules now clarify that a person can take advantage a COBRA subsidy and then – if they choose to do so – transition to a plan in the exchange after the subsidy ends. This will allow them to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits if eligible, rather than having to pay full price to keep their COBRA coverage.