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SEP Notice for Individuals Affected by Severe Weather
The SEP is available to those who resided in the affected areas or who rely on help making healthcare decisions from someone who lived in the affected area and had another election period available during the incident period.
Attention: Medicare Agents
CMS provides a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for individuals affected by severe weather who need to enroll in, disenroll from or switch Medicare health or prescription drug plans and have missed another enrollment period (i.e., either aging in or a SEP) due to the weather event. For those who qualify, the SEP begins on the first day of the incident period and runs for four (4) full months from the beginning of the incident period.
Who qualifies for this special enrollment period?
This applies to individuals who:
- Reside, or resided at the start of the incident period, in an area for which FEMA has declared an Emergency or a Major Disaster and has designated affected counties as eligible to apply for Individual or Public level assistance; and
- Had another valid election period at any time during the incident period; and
- Did not make an election during that other valid election period.
In addition, the SEP is available to those individuals who don’t live in the affected areas but rely on help making healthcare decisions from friends or family members who live in the affected areas. Please note: Affected counties can change on a regular basis. Below is the list of eligible counties as of November 19, 2019. The year has been corrected for South Dakota and Texas.
South Dakota – Incident Period September 9, 2019 – September 26, 2019 (SEP End Date – January 31, 2020)
Aurora, Brookings, Brule, Charles Mix, Davison, Douglas, Flandreau Indian Reservation, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchinson, Kingsbury, Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Sanborn, Turner, Union, Yankton, Yankton Indian Reservation
Texas – Incident Period September 17, 2019 – September 23, 2019 (SEP End Date – January 31, 2020)
Chambers, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, Orange, San Jacinto
North Carolina – Incident Period September 1, 2019 – September 9, 2019 (SEP End Date – January 31, 2020)
Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Cleveland, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Gates, Graham, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Iredell, Jackson, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, Martin, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Polk, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Tyrrell, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, Wilson, Yadkin, Yancey
South Carolina - Incident Period August 31, 2019 – September 06, 2019 (SEP End Date – December 31, 2019)
Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Catawba Indian Reservation, Charleston, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg, York
Georgia - Incident Period August 29, 2019 - September 7, 2019 (SEP End Date – December 31, 2019)
Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Wayne
Florida – Incident Period August 28, 2019 – September 9, 2019 (SEP End Date December 31, 2019)
Brevard, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Martin, Nassau, Osceola, Palm Beach, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie
Florida Seminole Tribe - Incident Period August 28, 2019 - September 04, 2019 (SEP End Date – December 31, 2019)
Big Cypress Indian Reservation, Brighton Indian Reservation, Fort Pierce Indian Reservation, Hollywood Indian Reservation, Immokalee Indian Reservation, Tampa Reservation
Florida – Incident Period August 28, 2019 - September 09, 2019 (SEP End Date – December 31, 2019)
Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, Washington
Puerto Rico – Incident Period August 26, 2019 - September 6, 2019 (SEP End Date – December 31, 2019)
Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco
Wisconsin – Incident Period July 18, 2019 – July 20, 2019 (SEP End Date – November 30, 2019)
Barron, Clark, Forest, La Crosse, Langlade, Marinette, Menominee, Menominee Indian Reservation, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Polk, Portage, Rusk, Shawano, St. Croix Indian Reservation, Vernon, Waupaca, Wood
New Hampshire – Incident Period July 11, 2019 – July 12, 2019 (SEP End Date – November 30, 2019)
Grafton
Louisiana – Incident Period July 10, 2019 – July 15, 2019 (SEP End Date – November 30, 2019)
Acadia (Parish), Allen (Parish), Ascension (Parish), Assumption (Parish), Avoyelles (Parish), Beauregard (Parish), Calcasieu (Parish), Cameron (Parish), Catahoula (Parish), Concordia (Parish), East Baton Rouge (Parish), East Feliciana (Parish), Evangeline (Parish), Helena (Parish), Iberia (Parish), Iberville (Parish), Jefferson (Parish), Jefferson Davis (Parish), Lafayette (Parish), Lafourche (Parish), Livingston (Parish), Orleans (Parish), Ouachita (Parish), Plaquemines (Parish), Pointe Coupee (Parish), Rapides (Parish), St. Bernard (Parish), St. Charles (Parish), St. Helena (Parish), St. James (Parish), St. John the Baptist (Parish), St. Landry (Parish), St. Martin (Parish), St. Mary (Parish), St. Tammany (Parish), Tangipahoa (Parish), Terrebonne (Parish), Vermilion (Parish), Vernon (Parish), Washington (Parish), West Baton Rouge (Parish), West Feliciana (Parish)
California – Incident Period July 4, 2019 - July 12, 2019 (SEP End Date – November 30, 2019)
Kern, San Bernardino
What Does This Mean to Agents
If an individual wants to enroll and believes they may qualify for this SEP, agents should:
- Ask the beneficiary if they can show proof that they lived/live in an impacted area at the start of the incident period.
- If they do not have proof, ask them to verbally attest.
- Confirm that they had another election period available during the time of the incident period.
- Confirm that the beneficiary lived in a county that has been declared an emergency or major disaster and FEMA has determined is eligible for Public or Individual assistance. Once eligibility has been verified, proceed with the application.
- On applications, use election code SEP DST.
Enrollments made pursuant to this SEP are effective the first of the month following the receipt of the enrollment request. For enrollment requests where more than one enrollment effective date is possible, agents will need to determine the applicant’s desired effective date.
Reminder: These SEPs are only available to beneficiaries who were affected during the incident period and should not be used as a tool to generate new enrollments.
For any updates to eligible counties please refer to the FEMA website at: https://www.fema.gov/disasters
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