Lost health coverage? Your enrollment window may be limited

The clock starts when coverage ends — not when you start looking

If you have lost health coverage, you generally have a 60-day Special Enrollment Period to enroll in a Marketplace plan. The part people miss: those 60 days are counted from the date your coverage ended, not from the day you got around to dealing with it. Two weeks of putting it off is two weeks of the window gone.

HealthCare.gov identifies loss of coverage, moving, marriage, birth or adoption, and other qualifying events as common paths to a Special Enrollment Period. Losing Medicaid or CHIP may come with a longer window than the standard 60 days.

Events that commonly open a window

• You lost job-based coverage — laid off, quit, hours reduced, or the employer dropped the plan.
• You lost Medicaid or CHIP — including at renewal, when income or household details changed.
• You moved — to a new ZIP code or county with different plans available.
• You got married or divorced.
• You had or adopted a child.
• You aged off a parent's plan at 26.

This is not a complete list, and eligibility is determined by the Marketplace — not by us. What we can do is tell you quickly whether it is worth applying and help you get the documentation right the first time.

COBRA is not automatically the answer

When you lose job-based coverage you will usually be offered COBRA, and many people take it because it is the path of least resistance. Two things worth knowing before you default to it:

1. COBRA is the same plan, but you now pay the full cost — including the share your employer used to cover. For many households a Marketplace plan with a premium tax credit lands lower.
2. Subsidy eligibility is based on your household income for the year, not your old salary. People who lost income mid-year often qualify for help they assume is not available to them.

Run both before the 60 days closes. If COBRA wins, take COBRA — we will tell you when it does.

What to have ready

You do not need all of this to call us, but having it speeds everything up:

• The date your coverage ended or will end
• Proof of the event — a termination letter, COBRA notice, or Medicaid renewal notice
• Who is in your household and on your tax return
• Your estimated household income for this year — an estimate is fine
• Your doctors and prescriptions, by name

How we help

We are an independent agency, so we compare across many carriers rather than steering you toward one company's shelf. Our help costs you nothing — independent agents are paid by the carrier when a policy is placed, and your rate is filed with the state either way. It does not go up because you used an agent, and it does not go down because you skipped one.

We will not promise you eligibility or a subsidy amount. Only the Marketplace determines those. What we will do is get you an honest read quickly, help you assemble the documentation, and handle the enrollment. If you are also self-employed now, see health insurance for the self-employed.