Health Insurance Plans for Individuals and Families

How to Obtain Medical Coverage

According to the Commonwealth Fund, almost half of all Americans under 65 obtain health insurance through their place of employment. The remainder obtain it via Medicaid, the individual insurance market, or do not have insurance. Medicare is automatically available to everybody over 65.

Five choices are available to individuals who have lost their employer-sponsored insurance or never had it; these possibilities vary depending on your salary, the state where you reside, and the length of time you had coverage.

Utilize COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, to maintain your employer’s coverage.
Enroll in insurance via Healthcare.gov or the insurance marketplace in your state.

• Accept your partner’s plan.
• Enroll in Medicaid if your income qualifies.
• Enroll in Medicare if you are

For people who no longer have employer-sponsored insurance, COBRA is the simplest but priciest choice. Usually, employers cover around 75% of their employees’ premiums; the remaining portion is the employee’s responsibility. In 2019, the mean worker spent $1,242 on a single policy.

However, the entire expense would be your responsibility under COBRA, which averaged $7,188 annually. In 2019, the average family coverage contribution was $6,015, while the average total cost of coverage was $20,576.

Individual health insurance plans and costs are available on HealthCare.gov or through the marketplace in your state. If you lose your employment and insurance, you might be eligible for a special enrollment period. In that instance, you would have up to 60 days to purchase an insurance policy following terminating your employer’s coverage.

The Affordable Care Act requires you to enroll in high-quality, reasonably priced health insurance regardless of the state in which you reside. Links to the marketplace in your state can be found at Healthcare.gov. States without separate marketplaces allow their citizens to purchase insurance directly from Healthcare.gov.

When Is Health Insurance Open Enrollment?

Enrolling in insurance via your state’s marketplace or HealthCare.gov often requires you to wait until the open enrollment period, which occurs annually from November 1 to December 15. You can also choose to alter your employer-sponsored coverage at that time if you so want.

• If you meet the requirements for a Special Enrollment Period due to a qualifying life event, you can also enroll in or modify your marketplace plan.
• Got hitched. Select a plan by the end of the current month, and your coverage will begin on the first of the next month.
• conceived a kid, placed a child in foster care, or adopted a child. Even if you join in the plan up to 60 days after the occurrence, your coverage can begin on that day.
• Lost health insurance after being formally separated or divorced. Note: You are not eligible for a Special Enrollment Period if you divorce or go through a legal separation without losing your insurance.
• passed away. If you are no longer eligible for your current health plan due to the death of a Marketplace plan participant, you may be eligible for a Special Enrollment Period.
• In the last sixty days, you or anybody living in your home lost your qualifying health insurance, or you anticipate losing it in the upcoming sixty days.
• You were affected by the COVID-19 emergency, which is why you didn’t enroll sooner even though you lost coverage more than 60 days ago on January 1, 2020.