SecondCor521
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
A potential harm is an increase in moral hazard.
Opening ACA marketplaces more frequently and for unusual circumstances now sets the precedent that this will happen more in the future. Maybe we will have longer open enrollments, more enrollment periods, or more qualifying events for special enrollment periods (there are already quite a few if one reads them all).
If a person thinks that they can not get insurance and can sign up anytime they need it, without regard to preexisting conditions and without lifetime limits, then they may elect to not buy it ahead of time. This effect might happen even if the person is not correct in their thinking - the incorrect thinking is enough to induce the behavior.
Opening ACA marketplaces more frequently and for unusual circumstances now sets the precedent that this will happen more in the future. Maybe we will have longer open enrollments, more enrollment periods, or more qualifying events for special enrollment periods (there are already quite a few if one reads them all).
If a person thinks that they can not get insurance and can sign up anytime they need it, without regard to preexisting conditions and without lifetime limits, then they may elect to not buy it ahead of time. This effect might happen even if the person is not correct in their thinking - the incorrect thinking is enough to induce the behavior.