Life Happens. When it Does, You May Have Another Chance to Enroll in Coverage
You may need health insurance right now, but unless “right now” is during an annual Open Enrollment Period, you’ll need to wait for a life-change event for health insurance.
Technically called “qualifying life events” under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare, these common life changes provide an opportunity for individuals and families to obtain or change their health insurance coverage any time of the year.
How Enrollment in Individual and Family Health Insurance Coverage Works
Those who don’t get health insurance through their employer’s group coverage typically enroll in individual and family plans through online portals called “marketplace exchanges” established by the ACA. While many states like California operate their own exchanges, others, including Arizona, use the federally established ACA marketplace exchange at www.healthcare.gov. That means Arizona residents must go through the ACA website to enroll in health coverage offered through the exchange.
Related: Do You Need a Computer to Get Marketplace Health Insurance?
When you visit healthcare.gov, you can review, evaluate, and compare the individual and family insurance plans available in Arizona. By providing basic information about yourself and your family, you can also see prices for different plans based on age, household, and income.
A Short and Strict “Open Enrollment Period” at the End of Every Year
Under the ACA, Arizona residents can’t apply for health insurance coverage any time they want to. If they could, many people would simply choose to wait until they get sick or injured or needed care to enroll in a plan, knowing that the ACA requires pre-existing conditions to be covered. That is why the law establishes limited time frame windows for enrolling in coverage.
These windows are known as the Open Enrollment Period and Special Enrollment Period. The latter allows people to enroll in coverage when a life-change event for health insurance occurs.
The Open Enrollment Period typically occurs between November and January each year. For example, the Open Enrollment Period for the calendar year 2023 coverage ended on January 15, 2023. If you missed that deadline, you would either need to wait until the next Open Enrollment at the end of 2023 or have a life-change event that allows you to enroll during a Special Enrollment Period.
Life-Change Events for Health Insurance Outside of the Open Enrollment Period
Individuals and families who do not obtain coverage during the Open Enrollment Period can only get or modify coverage outside of that timeframe if and when a “qualifying” life-change event occurs. When one of those events does happen, you typically have 60 days to enroll in coverage during your Special Enrollment Period.
Qualifying Life-Change Events:
Changes in Your Household
- You got married
- You had a baby, adopted a child, or placed a child in foster care
- You got legally separated or divorced and lost your health coverage as a result
- You had coverage under someone else’s plan, and they passed away
Changes in Your Residence
- You moved to a new home in a new county or ZIP code
- You moved to the U.S. from a foreign country or U.S. territory
Loss of Your Health Insurance Coverage
You may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period if you lost any of the qualifying health insurance coverage in the past 60 days or expect to lose your coverage in the next 60 days.
- Employer-based coverage
- Individual health coverage
- Coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicaid
- Eligibility for Medicare
- Coverage you had through a spouse, parent, or another family member that ended because:
- You turned 26
- Your family member lost their coverage or dependent coverage
- Your family member got divorced or legally separated
- Your family member died
- You are no longer a dependent of the family member
Other Qualifying Life-Change Events
- Becoming a U.S. citizen
- Release from incarceration
- Beginning or ending service as an AmeriCorps State and National, NCCC, or VISTA member
- Becoming a member of a federally recognized tribe or status as an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Corporation shareholder
Connecting Arizonans to the Best Health Insurance Brokers Since 1980
Whether during Open Enrollment or a Special Enrollment Period, Arizona Health Insurance Experts can connect you with the state’s most extensive collection of independent insurance agents and brokers who partner with the best insurance companies.
This partnership delivers the exceptional customer experience shoppers deserve, along with the health insurance coverage they need. Find a local healthcare broker near you today.
