Lose Your Health Insurance? Here Are Your Options
If you recently lost health insurance coverage, you may be eligible to enroll in Marketplace coverage with a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).
An SEP is a designated time period aside from the annual Open Enrollment Period when you can sign up for health insurance. You can qualify for an SEP if you’ve experienced specific life events, such as getting marries, having a baby, adopting a child, moving, and even losing your health coverage.
Those who are eligible for an SEP have a maximum 60 days following the event of losing their health benefits to enroll in a plan. However, if individuals miss that specific window, they must wait until the next Open Enrollment Period to apply.
Health insurance losses which may qualify for Special Enrollment Period include the following:
- Loss of employment-based insurance – If an individual left by choice or was fired
- Loss of individual health plan – If a person lost their Marketplace plan or their eligibility for a student health plan
- Loss of coverage through a family member’s plan – If a person become 26 years of age and can no longer be a part of their parent’s plan
- Loss of eligibility for Medicare – If you become ineligible for premium-free Medicare Part A.
- Loss of eligibility for Medicaid or the children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – If you lose your eligibility due to change in income
For those who lost their Medicaid and the CHIP, they can enroll in those programs any time of the year, even if you don’t qualify for SEP. Employment-based plans must provide special enrollment period of at least 30 days.
For more information about qualifying for an SEP, contact Insurance Benefits Inc. today.