When it comes to health insurance, a qualifying event is a life event that makes you eligible to purchase health insurance outside the dates of open enrollment. A qualifying event triggers a special enrollment period lasting 30-60 days, depending on the event. Read more about special enrollment periods. Qualifying Events Change in marital status (marriage/divorce/death of a spouse) Relocation to a new state or to an area of your current
Buying Health Insurance in Virginia, Maryland, or DC
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made it mandatory for most Americans to have health insurance. In addition to making health insurance mandatory, the new law also makes health insurance guaranteed issue. This means you cannot be denied coverage for any reason — even if you have a pre-existing medical condition. If you live in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia, Virginia Medical Plans can help you get the
Buying 2015 Health Insurance Outside of Open Enrollment
Open enrollment for 2015 health insurance has ended. It ran from November 15, 2014 through February 15, 2015. Outside those dates, you must have a qualifying event in order to be eligible to purchase Affordable Care Act-compliant coverage which is effective in 2015. NOTE: Anthem has extended its deadline to purchase off-exchange 2015 coverage until February 28. Click here for more info. Examples of Qualifying Events Change in marital status
How Long is My Health Insurance Coverage Effective?
In general, health insurance policies are effective for 12 months, and the period during which coverage is provided is called the plan’s benefit year. For individual health insurance policies — whether purchased on or off the exchange — the benefit year runs on a calendar basis, from January 1 – December 31. However, not all policies will be effective for the full 12 months. This is because the start date
What Happens to My Health Insurance if I Move to a New State?
If you purchased a health insurance policy under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while living in one state and subsequently move to another state, you will need to cancel coverage in your old state and purchase a plan in your new state. The good news is you don’t have to worry about purchasing your new coverage during open enrollment dates. That’s because moving to a new state is a qualifying
What is a Qualifying Event and What Should I Do if I Have One?
Note: this post was originally published on May 12, 2014 but has been updated for 2015. What appears here is the updated information, as of March 2015. When it comes to health insurance, a qualifying event is a life event that makes you eligible to purchase health insurance outside the dates of open enrollment. A qualifying event triggers a special enrollment period lasting 30-60 days, depending on the event. Read
Clarification to HHS Recommendations for Insurance Carriers
In a previous post, we outlined the recommendations made by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week to encourage health insurance carriers to take steps toward easing policyholders’ transition to new 2014 ACA-compliant health plans. We want to provide clarification on a couple of the points, and dissuade anyone from believing their insurance carrier will simply cover any out-of-network care or off-formulary drugs throughout the month of
How Much Penalty Will I Pay if I Don’t Get Health Insurance?
The individual responsibility clause of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as the individual mandate, requires all Americans to have health insurance by January 1, 2014, or pay a penalty tax. How Much Will the Penalty Be for not Having Health Insurance? You may have heard the figure $95 per person. That is the basic penalty in 2014 for an unmarried individual, earning less than $19,500/year, with no dependents.
Virginia Medical Plans’ Jon Katz in the News
Virginia Medical Plans’ own Jon Katz has become the go-to guy when it comes to information about today’s ever-changing landscape of health insurance. The local press in the Washington DC / Virginia / Maryland area has called upon Jon’s expert knowledge several times since the rollout of Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare. In October, Jon was featured on National Public Radio (NPR)’s radio show Marketplace (click here
National Association of Health Underwriters Helps Brokers Manage Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”)
The impact of the troubled online federal health insurance marketplace — healthcare.gov — has been felt by many Americans trying to manage the transition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as “Obamacare”. And now we have a numeric representation of the impact — last week the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released enrollment numbers since the opening of the health insurance marketplace on October 1. The
