The IRS issued interim guidance that states that the Treasury Department and the IRS have determined that the optional Medicaid COVID-19 testing group (under section 6004(a)(3) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is not minimum essential coverage (MEC). Therefore:- Individuals who are enrolled in the optional COVID-19 testing group can enroll in a Qualified Health Plan (QHP) and receive APTCs. However, their enrollment in a QHP would mean that the individual would no longer be eligible for the optional COVID-19 testing group. – When the optional COVID-19 testing group expires at the conclusion of the public health emergency (PHE), those individual who were enrolled in the group will not be eligible for a special enrollment period as a result of losing Medicaid coverage.