What Happens If I Miss the Open Enrollment Deadline?
Julie Bitely
| 2 min read
The deadline to enroll in an individual health insurance plan through the federal government’s Marketplace is looming. This year the open enrollment period started on Nov. 1 and ends on Dec. 15, 2018 for coverage that starts Jan. 1, 2019. Certain states have an extended enrollment period although Michigan is not one of them. If you haven’t signed up yet, visit BCBSM’s open enrollment webpage today. If you’re reading this after Dec. 15, you still might be able to sign up under certain circumstances:
- See if you or your dependents qualify for Medicaid or CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). Both provide free or low-cost health coverage and there’s no open enrollment period, which means you can sign up throughout the year if you meet financial requirements.
- If you’re a member of a Native American tribe or Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, you’re eligible to sign up at any time of the year.
- If you experience a qualifying event such as the birth of a child, you’ll have a special enrollment period to sign up. This period of time lasts 60 days and also covers life events such as marriage, adoption, divorce that results in a loss of coverage or loss of job-based coverage.
Unless you qualify for one of the above scenarios or you’re able to obtain employer-based coverage, you’ll have to wait until the next open enrollment period to enroll in a Marketplace plan. If you found this post helpful, you might also like:
- A Guide to Common Health Care Terms
- Choosing Your First Health Care Plan
- You Have a New Plan, Now What?
Photo credit: Aliaksandr Bukatsich
