CMS released a trends report indicating that 487,000 individuals signed up for coverage on Healthcare.gov through the existing “loss of Minimum Essential Coverage” special enrollment period (SEP) in April and May, representing an increase of 46% from the same time period last year. [moved this sentence to be the final sentence] The Administration did not establish a new SEP in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—a decision that the City of Chicago is challenging in court and a host of Democratic Attorneys General and the House of Representatives have supported. [do we need a link to source for this final statement? totally defer to your typical process]