What are my health insurance options?
We’ll help you find the right Health Coverage with Affordable Quotes from top Health Insurance Providers. Health insurance in the US today has certainly changed over the past decade. New laws enacted, now require all plans to comply with the Affordable Care Act better known as Obamacare. The law has a specific requirement that mandates all US Citizens get health insurance coverage. You have 4 options outside of your employer union groups, from on-exchange plans and off-exchange plans to Private plans and Health share Ministries. I’ll break it down and explain it in more detail.
- On-exchange plans are available thru the Federal Marketplace on the Healthcare.gov website. These plans generally allow for a Premium Tax Credit which significantly lowers the monthly premium by using government-paid subsidy credits.
- Off-exchange plans are the same plans from the same insurance companies but without the Premium Tax Credits. Generally, these plans are for higher-income earners that do not qualify for the Premium Tax Credit.
- Private plans are made available as an alternative to the government-run healthcare plans. These plans are generally available year-round.
- Short-Term Medical Plans. Short-term plans are designed to go up to 90-day increments. New laws allow these to run concurrently to last up to 12 months.
- Health share Ministries are health care sharing ministries which is an organization that facilitates sharing of healthcare costs among individual members, in the United States, who have common ethical or religious beliefs. These are available year-round and do not utilize Premium Tax Credits or subsidies.
When can you apply?
- On-exchange and off-exchange plans are government regulated and have strict enrollment dates. Policies run annually from January 1st thru December 31st. You may only apply during Open Enrollment Period unless you qualify for a Special Election Period. In 2021 Open enrollment was from November 1st thru December 15th. Special Election Period can be used for the following occurrences
- Recently Married or Divorced
- Having a newborn
- Loss of credible coverage
- Moving to a new service area
- Private plans and Healthshare Ministries are available year-round. Policies generally run annually from January 1st thru December 31st.