When is open enrollment deadline for health insurance 2024? What to know about ACA
The deadline is fast approaching for you to pick your healthcare plan - whether through the Affordable Care Act marketplace or an employer-based health insurance plan - for the upcoming year.
Tempting as it may be to put it off, waiting until the last minute is dangerous especially if you're new to navigating health insurance plans.
There are free or low-cost services that can help you pick a marketplace plan, but appointments will likely be harder to get the longer you wait.
What is open enrollment?
Open enrollment is a period of time each year when you pick your health insurance plan for the upcoming year.
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When is the deadline for open enrollment for health insurance?
Jan. 16, 2024. Because of the Jan. 15 holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), you have one extra day to enroll.
Generally speaking, insurance offered through the Health Insurance Marketplace, commonly referred to as Obamacare, are for people who don't get health insurance through their employer or are uninsured for another reason and are below 65.
The District of Columbia and eighteen states run their own marketplaces, including New York. Those residents can head to the state's marketplace site (https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/) for open enrollment information. There, they can compare health cost options and apply for assistance that could lower the cost of health care coverage.
If you get employer-sponsored health insurance, you aren't eligible for ACA plans. For more information, touch base with your company's human resources department.
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Can I change my health insurance plan after enrollment?
Typically you can change your elections during the open enrollment period. But afterward, you're locked into the plan you selected.
Still, there are numerous qualifying life events that allow you to change your health insurance plan after open enrollment ends.
For instance, if you have a new child, you'll be given a special 60-day open enrollment period separate from the general one to change your ACA-marketplace-based health coverage. Employment-based health insurance has to provide a special enrollment period of at least 30 days for qualifying life events.
What happens if you do nothing during open enrollment?
In most cases, if you do nothing during open enrollment you'll automatically be enrolled in the plan you had.
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What happens if you miss open enrollment for health insurance at work?
Usually, you'll be enrolled in the same plan you had and you won't be given an opportunity to make changes until the next open enrollment period unless you become eligible for a special enrollment period.
Previous USA Today reporting was used for this story.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: When is the last day for open enrollment? 2024 ACA deadlines
