CURRENT INSURANCE HEADLINES IN BOZEMAN, MONTANA
What You Need to Know about the Affordable Care Act
2018 Open Enrollment Period
2018 Open Enrollment runs from November 1, 2017 to December 15, 2017.
Outside the Open Enrollment Period, you generally can enroll in a health insurance plan only if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. You’re eligible if you have certain life events, like getting married, having a baby, or losing other health coverage.
Job-based plans may have different Open Enrollment Periods. Check with your employer.
You can apply and enroll in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) any time of year.
A Special Enrollment Period may allow you to enroll in a plan outside of the annual Open Enrollment Period if you experience a qualifying event. Qualifying events will open the Special Enrollment Period giving you 60 days to enroll in a new plan. Qualifying events are listed below.
If your situation does not fall into one of these categories we have short term insurance options that may be able to help you prevent a lapse in coverage. Short term insurance is meant to provide coverage while in between jobs or while waiting for Open Enrollment. Go check out plans and prices for short term policies through the IHC Group by clicking the button below!
IHC Short Term
Job-based plans may have different Open Enrollment Periods. Check with your employer.
You can apply and enroll in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) any time of year.
Health Insurance Application Checklist
Use this checklist to help you gather information you will need to apply for coverage (trax and income information is for those seeking tax credits). - Information about household size: https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/household-size/
- Home and mailing addresses for everyone applying for coverage
- Birthdates and social security numbers for everyone applying.
- Document information for legal immigrants: https://www.healthcare.gov/help/immigration-document-types/
- Information on how you file your taxes.
- Employer and income information for every member of your household: https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/income/
- Your best estimate of what your household income will be for 2018: https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/how-to-report/
- Policy numbers for any current health plans covering member sof your household. A completed “Employer Coverage Tool” for every job-based plan you or someone in the household is eligible for, even if you do not enroll in the coverage: https://www.healthcare.gov/downloads/employer-coverage-tool.pdf
- Loss of Coverage – Due to anything EXCEPT non-payment. Includes turning 26 and losing your parent's health plan, turning 65 and applying for Medicare, and loosing group coverage because of job loss.
- Change in Household Size – Marriage, child birth, divorce, adoption/foster care, and death.
- Made a Permanent Move – Includes moving into the US, changed Zip codes or counties, moving to a different state.
- Change in Income – This ONLY qualifies if you have an addition to your income and you now make too much to qualify for Medicaid and you need to sign up through the Marketplace. Or, vis versa, your income goes down enough is disqualify you from the Marketplace because you make too little and you need to now be on Medicaid.
- Plan Ends in a Non-Calendar Year – Your plan is set to end on any date after 1/31/16.
- Enrollment Error – This ONLY qualifies if you can adequately demonstrate that your previous health plan or issuer substantially violated a material provision of its contract with you. Not due to self-error.
- Other – Beginning or concluding service in Americorps, Vista and NCCC. If you believe you have a qualifying event that is not listed, give us a call and we can see what we can do to help.
If your situation does not fall into one of these categories we have short term insurance options that may be able to help you prevent a lapse in coverage. Short term insurance is meant to provide coverage while in between jobs or while waiting for Open Enrollment. Go check out plans and prices for short term policies through the IHC Group by clicking the button below!
