Open enrollment for 2022 individual/family health coverage began on November 1. The enrollment window is longer this year, continuing until a minimum of January 15 in virtually every state. (For the time being, Idaho still plans to end the open enrollment period on December 15.)
The longer open enrollment period does give people some extra wiggle room throughout the busy holiday season. However for most people, December 15 is still the soft deadline you are going to want to bear in mind. In many states, this is the last day you can enroll in coverage that will take effect January 1.
Which states have open enrollment dates past December 15 – but still have January 1 effective dates?
There are a few exceptions, however. The following state-run exchanges are giving people extra time to enroll in a plan that can take effect January 1:
But in the remaining country, you have to enroll by December 15 to have your plan start on January 1. And that is essential for several reasons.
1. Currently uninsured? Delaying your enrollment will mean no coverage in January.
If you aren't already signed up for ACA-compliant coverage in 2022, the current open enrollment period is the opportunity to change that for 2022.
But should you hold back until the final minute to enroll, you won't have coverage in place once the new year begins. Instead, you will be waiting until February 1 – or March 1 – if you enroll in the last second in a few states with longer enrollment windows.
2. Currently uninsured or signed up for a non-marketplace plan? Delayed enrollment might mean missing out on free money.
If you considered marketplace coverage previously and found so that it is unaffordable, you may currently be uninsured or enrolled in a plan that isn't regulated through the ACA. Or you might have opted to purchase ACA-compliant coverage away from exchange, should you weren't eligible for premium tax credits (subsidies) the final time you looked.
But thanks to the American Rescue Plan, many people who weren't eligible for subsidies in previous years will find that they are now. Those subsidies are only available if you are signed up for a marketplace/exchange plan, and the current open enrollment period is your opportunity to make the change to a marketplace plan.
In accessory for being more widely available, premium subsidies will also be bigger than these were last fall. Individuals who didn't enroll this past year due to the cost could find that coverage now fits in their budget.
Four from five people looking for coverage within the 33 states that use the federally-run marketplace (HealthCare.gov) will find that they'll get coverage for $10/month or less. And millions of uninsured Americans are eligible for premium-free coverage in the marketplace, but might not realize this.
Waiting until the last second to join coverage will mean that you leave everything cash on the table for January. You should use our subsidy calculator to obtain a concept of how your subsidy will be for 2022. Then, be sure you enroll by December 15 so that you're eligible to claim the subsidy for all 12 months of the year.
3. Letting your plan auto-renew? You might be set for an unexpected.
If you already have coverage with the marketplace in 2022 and therefore are likely to just let it auto-renew for 2022, you might wake up on January 1 with coverage and a premium that aren't what you expected.
Even if you are 100% happy with the program you have now, your debt it to you to ultimately spend at least some time checking out the available alternatives before December 15. The premium that the insurer charges is likely changing for 2022. And your subsidy amount could also be changing, especially if you will find new insurers joining industry in your town.
Your insurer might also be making changes for your benefits, provider network, or covered drug list – or even discontinuing the plan altogether and replacing it with a brand new one. In a nutshell, the plan and price you've on January 1 may be not the same as what you have finally.
This belongs to the reason HHS opted to increase outdoors enrollment period – in order to give people a chance for a “do-over” if their auto-renewed plan isn't what they expected. In nearly every state, you will have until a minimum of January 15 to choose a new plan. But that plan selection won't be retroactive to January 1.
4. Out-of-pocket expenses won't transfer in February or March.
What if you're signed up for a marketplace plan in 2022, let it auto-renew for 2022, and then decide after December 15 that you'd favour another plan? Thanks to the extended open enrollment period, you can do that, as well as your new plan will require effect in February (or potentially March, if you're within the state-run exchanges using the latest enrollment deadlines).
But it's important to realize that you'll be starting over with a brand new plan in February or March. What this means is the out-of-pocket costs counted against your deductible and out-of-pocket maximum will reset to $0, even though you ended up with out-of-pocket expenses in January.
Out-of-pocket expenses reset to $0 on January 1 for those marketplace plans, so your auto-renewed policy will start over with a brand new deductible at that time. But when you'll need health care in January (and have associated out-of-pocket costs) before your brand-new plan takes effect in February, you'll potentially have a higher out-of-pocket exposure for the entire year than you would have if you would picked your brand-new plan by December 15 coupled with it start January 1.
All of the is really a reminder that although most enrollees have until a minimum of mid-January to sign up for 2022 coverage, it's in your best interest to get your plan selection taken care of by December 15.
Louise Norris is definitely an individual medical health insurance broker who has been covering health insurance and health reform since 2006. She's written dozens of opinions and academic pieces concerning the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org. Her state health exchange updates are regularly cited by media who cover health reform and by other medical health insurance experts.
