Life Events

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows you and your family to sign up for health insurance outside of the open enrollment period, if you experience certain qualifying life events during the special enrollment period. In most cases, you have up to 60 days after the date that triggered the qualifying life event to purchase major medical individual or family health insurance coverage.

Life events include:

• Loss of essential health coverage: If you or one of your dependents lose health coverage that meets minimum government standards.
• Change of family structure: If you gain a dependent or become a dependent because of a marriage, death in the family, or birth or adoption of a child.
• Change in citizenship status: If you become a U.S. citizen, national, or gain lawful status in the United States.
• Experience government error: If you lose, change, or enroll in coverage because of an error committed by an officer, employee, or agent of the Exchange or the Department of Health and Human Services.
• Change in subsidy eligibility: If you are determined newly eligible or newly ineligible for subsidies (advance payments of the premium tax credit or cost-sharing reductions).
• Move to a new coverage area: If you permanently move to a new area and gain access to new Qualified Health Plans.