You missed open enrollment.
Or maybe your health insurance lapsed for some reason.
What are you supposed to do? Is it even possible to get health insurance outside of open enrollment?
Yes, it is possible to get health insurance outside of open enrollment.
This guide shares the 3 possible ways to get health insurance outside of open enrollment.
1. If you’ve had a “qualifying life event” within the last 60 days
The government understands that sometimes life just happens.
And when life happens, circumstances change, or situations adapt, then you should have the opportunity to get health insurance.
There is a list of “qualifying life events” that will make you eligible to receive health insurance outside of open enrollment.
What are the “qualifying life events?”
There is a list of “qualifying life events” that will make you eligible to receive health insurance outside of open enrollment.
Here’s the list of qualifying life events:
- Changes in your household situation:
- You get married or divorce
- You have a child or adopt a child
- There’s a death in the household
- Changes in your living situation:
- You move zip codes (it doesn’t necessarily have to be across state lines)
- A student moving to or from school that’s located in a different area
- Moving from transitional housing
- Losing your health insurance coverage
- Losing your health insurance because you quit your job or got terminated
- Losing your eligibility to have Medicaid or Medicare
- Losing health insurance under your parents’ plan once you turn 26 years old
- Forgetting to pay, or being unable to pay, your current health insurance to the point where it lapses is NOT a qualifying life event
- If you lose short term coverage then that is NOT a qualifying life event
- Other miscellaneous life events
- Becoming a US Citizen
- Leaving incarceration
- And more
How quickly do I need to get new health insurance after the “qualifying life event?”
You have 60 days to submit an application for new health insurance from the time of your qualifying life event.
So, if you move from Seattle to Las Vegas on April 17th, then you have 60 days from April 17th to submit your application for new health insurance.
Or, if you quit your job on February 3rd, then you have 60 days from February 3rd to submit an application for new health insurance.
2. You May Be Able To Use The Medicaid “Loophole”
Let’s say that you weren’t aware of open enrollment.
And then, you decide to go out and shop for health insurance. But, they tell you that you missed open enrollment and do not have a qualifying life event that makes you eligible.
What are you supposed to do?
Here’s what they often miss. And, this is 100% legal.
Most other health insurance brokers are totally unaware of this loophole in the system.
Apply for Medicaid and see what happens.
If you currently do NOT have coverage, then go ahead and apply to Medicaid.
If you currently do NOT have coverage, then go ahead and apply to Medicaid.
If you’re denied, you can use the letter showing that you’ve been denied as a “qualifying life event.”
You have 60 days to leverage that letter to apply for health insurance through the exchange.
How do you apply for Medicaid?
Go to this link:
https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/getting-medicaid-chip/
And then, from there, there are 2 ways that you can apply for Medicaid.
- You can apply through the MarketPlace:
You can apply through your state’s Medicaid agency:
If you’re having trouble applying, feel free to reach out to one of our professional health insurance consultants.
3. You can get access to “short term health insurance” that lasts 184 days
Okay, so at this point, you are ineligible for health insurance because you do not have a qualifying event and it’s outside of open enrollment.
There is another option that you can use to get health insurance:
It’s called “short term health insurance” (also known as “Term Insurance” or “Temporary Health Insurance”).
And what’s great about short term health insurance is that you can get it outside of open enrollment.
You may have a couple of questions about Short Term Health Insurance, though:
1.How long can I have short term health insurance for?
The plans differ, but in Nevada you can get a short term health insurance plan that lasts for 184 days.
2. Is short term insurance just for me or can I also get it for my family?
Your family (spouses and dependents) are eligible to be added to most short term health insurance plans.
3. How quickly can you start getting medical coverage using short term health insurance?
Usually the coverage takes effect the day after you apply. So, it’s a really fast process!
Ready to apply for your short term health insurance?
