Health Care

Enroll by December 15 to get high-quality coverage that meets your needs starting January 1

GETTING HEALTH CARE COVERAGE THROUGH THE HEALTH EXCHANGE SYSTEM:

Open Enrollment is the time when you can apply for a 2015 Marketplace plan, keep your current plan, or pick a new one. Are you ready for the next Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment Period?

Here are 4 key dates you should know:

•    November 15, 2014. Open Enrollment begins. Apply for, keep, or change your coverage.

•    December 15, 2014. Enroll by the 15th if you want new coverage that begins on January 1, 2015. If your plan is changing or you want to change plans, enroll by the 15th to avoid a lapse in coverage.

•    December 31, 2014. Coverage ends for 2014 plans. Coverage for 2015 plans can start as soon as January 1st.

•    February 15, 2015. This is the last day you can apply for 2015 coverage before the end of Open Enrollment.

Open Enrollment for 2015 coverage is now open!

With the open enrollment season for 2015 having started, here’s a look at how the Affordable Care Act provides important patient protections and health care benefits to American families:

• More than 8.3 million seniors have received $12 billion in Medicare prescription drugs savings since 2010. [Ways and Means, 11/12/14]

• This year, more than two thirds (69%) of individuals selecting plans with tax credits in the federal Marketplace have net monthly premiums of $100 or less and nearly half (46%) have net monthly premiums of $50 or less. [Ways and Means, 11/12/14] 

• Approximately 6 million young adults have been allowed to stay on their parents’ private insurance plans until age 26. [Ways and Means, 11/12/14]

• Over 10 million previously uninsured adults have found coverage, cutting the uninsured rate by 26%. [HHS, 10/7/14]

• 70% of Americans with Marketplace insurance plans feel they can now afford care if they get sick, and a majority say their premiums are easy to afford. [HHS, 10/7/14]

• 76 million Americans with private insurance have received free preventive care services, including 30 million women and 18 million children. [HHS, 10/7/14]

• American consumers have saved $9 billion since 2011, because the law says that insurance companies have to spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar they receive on providing health care, not on profits or overhead expenses.  [HHS, 10/7/14]

• Medicare Part B premiums will not go up for the second year in a row in 2015 – compared to premiums that skyrocketed by 112 percent between 2000 and 2008. [CMS, 7/28/14]

• The life of the Medicare Trust Fund has been extended by 13 years. [CMS, 7/28/14]

• 129 million Americans, including 17.6 million children with pre-existing conditions, cannot be discriminated against by insurers, and being a woman can no longer be considered a pre-existing condition. [HHS, 7/16/14]

• 100 million Americans with private insurance no longer need to worry about hitting a lifetime limit on coverage – those limits could leave families facing bankruptcy when they had a medical emergency and their insurance stopped paying for their care. [HHS, 7/16/14] 

• In 2013 alone, 37.2 million seniors accessed free Medicare preventative care services, including free Medicare annual wellness visits. [HHS, 7/16/14]

• “More than three-quarters of those who had either enrolled in Medicaid or bought a private insurance plan in one of the new marketplaces” are satisfied with their new coverage, and “more than half (58%) said they were better off because of their new coverage.” [Los Angeles Times, 7/10/14]

• Since 2010, National Health Expenditures (NHE) have grown at an average annual rate of 3.8%. This represents the lowest rate on record for any four-year period (since tracking began in 1960), and is less than half of the average annual growth rate of 9.3% over that 50+ year period. [American Hospital Association, 3/11/14]

To learn more about coverage and eligibility for tax credits to make coverage more affordable, visit www.HealthCare.gov. Americans without access to the internet or who prefer not to enroll online can get information and sign up through the Call Center at 1-800-318-2596 (TTY 1-855-889-4325). After identifying the best option, those seeking coverage have until February 15, 2015, to enroll.  However, they must sign up by December 15 in order for coverage to begin on January 1, 2015.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU MISS OPEN ENROLLMENT:

Important: If you don’t have minimum essential coverage, you must either pay a fee or have an exemption from paying the fee.

Outside open enrollment season, see if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period so you can buy a private health plan through the Marketplace.

Apply for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — you can do this any time, all year. If you qualify you can enroll immediately.

Small businesses can apply for SHOP coverage any time, all year.

Members of federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native shareholders can enroll in Marketplace coverage any time of year. There is no limited enrollment period for these groups, and they can change plans as often as once a month.

For more information, please click here.

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