Missed ACA deadline
You still have two days to sign up for health insurance through open enrollment. The deadline is on February 15th, and if you miss it, you may find yourself left without coverage for the whole year and facing heavy fines. If you miss the deadline, keep these tips in mind to find out if you can still find coverage.
- Follow up – if you were not able to sign up because you had issues filing the application on time, do not give up. There are special enrollment periods that help people with “complex cases,” such as if you got an error message or were prevented from completing your application due to some disaster.
- Life changes mean extra time – if you experienced a huge life change, such as having a child or getting married, you can qualify for a special enrollment period, which allows you to sign up for a policy outside of the open enrollment period.
- Medicaid is still open – you have the option to enroll in a Medicaid health insurance policy at any time throughout the year. You can also enroll in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP at any point without facing any penalties.
- Appeals – if you were denied a special enrollment period, you have the chance to appeal the decision. Under The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, you are allowed to appeal many different rulings.
- Avoid the penalty – there are many situations in which you can completely avoid a penalty for not having health insurance, including if you do not earn enough to file a federal tax return or belong to a federally recognized tribe.
For all of your health insurance needs if you missed the Affordable Care Act deadline, contact the insurance professionals at Steve Wilk Insurance Agency in Lombard, Illinois.