I Need Health Insurance. I Missed the Obamacare Deadline. What Now?

The formal deadline to purchase a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act while taking advantage of the prohibition against discrimination regarding pre-existing conditions was March 31. This was also the deadline for individuals to obtain coverage without incurring a penalty of either $95 or 1 percent of their income, whichever is greater.

If you missed the deadline, however, you still have options. Here they are, in a nutshell:

• Purchase a Short-Term individual or family policy from an agent or broker in the open market.  A short term policy will help bridge the gap until the next open enrollment. There are plans available through a broker. The plans however do not qualify as an ACA plan and, therefore, the annual tax penalty will probably apply up until you are able to get a qualified plan.

• Apply under a special enrollment period. You can do this if you have had a qualifying life event, such as moving to a new state, loss of other coverage, and changes in family size (birth of a child, divorce, marriage, divorce, adoption, etc.).  These events will allow you to apply through the exchanges and potentially qualify for subsidies as well as guaranteed issue, regardless of your medical history.  You do have a time limitation on when you can purchase the plan after such qualifying event, in some cases 30 days and in other cases 60 days. It’s always best to act right away to prevent missing the deadline.

• Enroll under the COBRA window. The government recently extended the deadline for current COBRA enrollees to enroll in an ACA-qualified plan over the exchanges  to July 1st. They did this because of widespread confusion over the status of COBRA enrollees under the ACA, that resulted in some poor guidance being issued to individuals and families covered by the program.

•  Be a member of AmeriCorps, State and National, VISTA or NCCC programs.The Department of Health and Human Services has granted an additional 60 day window to members of those programs who lost coverage because of entering or leaving these programs. Full details at this link.

• Apply for Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  You can apply for these programs at any time if you qualify, and coverage can begin immediately.  For more information on whether you may qualify for Medicaid (depending on your state, family size and income level), click here.  This is not a solution for many, especially since not everyone meets the criteria to qualify.