The Affordable Care Act 2016 Enrollment opened on November 1st, 2016
By now everyone should know that open enrollment for individual health insurance for 2016 through Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, begins Nov. 1. So here are some things you need to know.
- The 2016 open enrollment begins November 1st, 2015 and ends January 31st 2016. If you want coverage by January 1st, 2016 you must sign up by December 15th 2015. If you wait until January 31st, 2016 your coverage will not begin until March 1st, 2016.
- You must use the government exchange if you want to get the subsidy you may qualify for. Of course if you do not qualify for subsidies you can buy health insurance outside of the exchange. Generally those prices are higher. Not that by law all health insurance sold whether withing the Affordable Care Exchange or outside must abide by the consumer protections within the the law.
- You qualify for a subsidy or tax credit to help defray your health insurance cost if your income is between 100% to 400% of the poverty level, $11,770 to $47,080 for individuals and $24,250 to $97,000 for a family of four. Use this calculator to see how big a subsidy you qualify for. Last year over 9 million people missed out on subsidies they qualified for according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. So be sure to use the calculator.
- Shop around for the best deal. If you are currently enrolled in Obamacare your current plan may have risen in price significantly. The good news is that you can generally shop around for a much better deal. On average premiums for the most popular plans are increasing by 7.5%. But the price of some plans are falling.
- Signup or renew your plan at Healthcare.gov. Do not wait until the last minute.