Covered California consumers may lose their monthly subsidy if they do not attest that they have filed their 2015 federal taxes.
2017 Consent, Income, and Tax Attestation Notice Talking Points Certified Enrollers
Beginning April, 24 2017, Covered California will send notices to consumers to notify them they are at risk of losing their Advance Premium Tax Credit (APTC) and/or cost-sharing reductions for health insurance coverage through Covered California in 2017.
Consumers will receive this notice for one or more of the following reasons:
- Consumer’s Consent for Verification has expired
- Consumer may not have filed a 2015 federal income tax return for their household to reconcile the APTC used to lower plan premium costs during 2015
- Consumer’s household income may be too high to qualify for APTC
Consumers were advised to contact Covered California or their Covered California Certified Enroller for assistance in updating their Consent for Verification and/or to check their income and family size. Consumers were advised to contact ONLY Covered California to provide an “Attestation To File a Federal Tax Return for 2015” by phone or in writing to Covered California by mail or fax.
Guidance To Certified Insurance Agents
- Per law and regulations, you cannot initiate conversations regarding whether or not the consumer is a non-tax filer
- If a consumer indicates they are contacting you about the notice they received, offer to review their Consent for Verification and income and family size information with them
- Do not make any statements like:
o Are you inquiring about not filing your taxes?
o Did you file your tax return in 2015?
- If the consumer does not specifically mention or ask about their tax filing status do not initiate conversations regarding whether or not the consumer is a non-tax filer
- Ask the consumer if there is anything else you can assist them with
- If the Consumer specifically states they would like to provide attestation that they filed their taxes or they need help with tax attestation contact the main Covered California service center at 1-800-300-1506 with the Primary Tax Filer (or their Authorized Representative) on the line
- Do not provide any tax filling advice under any circumstance or answer any tax filing questions – refer them to contact the main Cover California service center
Consent for Verification Quick Guide Certified Enrollers
IMPORTANT: Authorizing Electronic Consent to Verify Income
When a consumer fills out their application, they choose to allow Covered California to verify the information in their application electronically using the Federal Data Services Hub (FDSH) – This is called Consent for Verification. Consumers may authorize Covered California to electronically verify their information for a period of Zero (0) to Five (5) years. It allows Covered California to apply the Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTC) and/or Cost Sharing Reductions (CSR) without the consumer having to take any action.
Consumers who did not authorize Covered California to electronically verify income and household size for 2017 are being sent letters requesting their consent
Consumers who are currently enrolled in a Covered California Health Plan and do not provide their consent to verify their information for the 2017 coverage year may lose their APTC and/or CSR
Follow the brief instructions below to help consumers update their consent for electronic verification in the online application.
- Log in to your account on www.CoveredCA.com
- Locate the “ACTIONS” section of the webpage (on the right)
- Click on the “Update Consent for Verification and Tax Filing Attestation” link
- Click on the drop down menu “Update my Consent for” to choose the number of years (up to 5 years) to allow Covered California to check your household income
- Click the “Update” button on the bottom of the webpage to submit your choice
Consent_Income_Tax_Attestation_Notice_April_2017.pdf
Consent_Income_Tax_Attestation_Notice_Talking_Points_4.17.17.pdf
Version: 4.17.17
