35,000 Georgians must find new health coverage after Friday Health’s demise

Georgia insurance commissioner, John King, has officially shut down the insurance company Friday Health, which was providing over 35,000 Georgians coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplace exchange. 

Customers must act quickly to switch to a different provider by July 31 or risk a lapse in health coverage. In response, the ACA exchange on Thursday opened a special enrollment window for Friday Health policyholders in Georgia so they can switch to a new health insurance company on the ACA marketplace exchange, healthcare.gov.

For these policyholders, Friday Health coverage will cease being valid at the end of the day on July 31. Those who fail to choose a new insurance plan by this date will have no coverage. If policyholders fail to choose a new plan, they will have to wait until regular open enrollment in the fall to choose a new plan and for its coverage to begin in 2024.

Joining all six other Friday Health states, Georgia officials announced Wednesday it was placing Friday Health in receivership, saying that they had to take action to protect customers because they feared the company didn’t have enough money coming in to be sure it could pay customers claims. On Friday Health’s company website, it announced that it would “wind down” operations in all seven states where it operates. The company said in a statement that it was “deeply disappointed,” but that it agreed. 

Insurance Commissioner King said policyholders should be able to avoid any lapse in coverage if they switch by July 31. For those who miss the cutoff date, their coverage will lapse, but then they can still buy new health insurance on healthcare.gov up until Sept. 29.

King’s office emphasized that the insurance still holds for now and that winding down by Friday Health doesn’t mean doctors and hospitals don’t have to respect their contracts. Per King, covered services and negotiated prices must be honored until the end of the day July 31. King said in a news release,“Our office has closely monitored the Company and determined that continued operation of Friday Health Plans was not possible without putting policyholders at risk, so we are acting to protect them.”

Friday Health was a Colorado startup in 2015 that aimed to bring startup culture to health insurance in select states. The company expanded fast and entered the Georgia market last year, with policies starting coverage in January 2022 in 20 of Georgia’s 159 counties.