Consumers who didn’t enroll in an Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan (commonly referred to as “Obamacare”) by the March 31stdeadline may still be eligible for coverage. If you started an application on the Covered California website before midnight on March 31st, you have until midnight on April 15th to complete the application and move forward with selecting a plan.
If you didn’t start an application on or before March 31st, you may be eligible to enroll in a plan during the special enrollment period (SEP) after March 31st if you qualify for a specific “qualifying life event.” Some qualifying events are:
- Losing health care coverage that is considered essential coverage
- Getting married
- Having a baby or adopting a child
- Relocating permanently to a new area that has different coverage
- A change in income that affects your eligibility for financial assistance
Finally, people with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level (FPL) may be eligible for low-cost or no-cost coverage through Medi-Cal, California’s healthcare access program.
If you did not start an application prior to the March 31 deadline and you don’t meet at least one of the criteria for the special enrollment period and you are not eligible for Medi-Cal, you must wait for the next open enrollment period for Covered California or the next open enrollment period for an individual plan outside of Covered California. Call Benefit Packages today to understand your eligibility and coverage options.