Last Monday, in a press release made by CoverTN program officials, they have formally announced that new enrollment in the limited benefit health insurance program will suspend on Dec. 31, 2009. The said reason was that they already reach budget capacity due to the most successful open enrollment in the program’s history.

“This really is a bittersweet moment for CoverTN,” said Gerald Reed, director of CoverTN. “We’re coming off an open enrollment period that resulted in more than 2,500 new members, which demonstrates the need for this program.  At the same time, we must continue to manage the program within our budget capacity, which for now means we need to suspend new enrollment.”

Current members and participating businesses, as well as those who have been approved for effective coverage in January 2010, will not be affected by the suspension. Any business or individual who wishes to begin the enrollment process has until Nov. 30, 2009 to pre-qualify with the state.

As for the businesses and the self-employed that have pre-qualified for CoverTN through the state’s website, they have up to one year to enroll in the program, while individuals have no time limit for enrollment. Finally, those businesses and individuals who have pre-qualified but have not yet enrolled with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee must do so by Dec. 31.