Short term health insurance in MA
November 2, 2019 10:07 AM Subscribe
So I find myself without health insurance in MA. Long story, but my existing insurance dropped me for non-payment as I am in a shitty financial position. What to do now?
I've applied for coverage as of 1st of Jan under open enrollment, but what about until then? I can't seem to find anyone who offers health insurance on a short-term basis in Massachusetts. Guessing that is because of the Obamacare and state rules, but the state plans won't accept me until the 1st of January.
Am I out of luck?
I've applied for coverage as of 1st of Jan under open enrollment, but what about until then? I can't seem to find anyone who offers health insurance on a short-term basis in Massachusetts. Guessing that is because of the Obamacare and state rules, but the state plans won't accept me until the 1st of January.
Am I out of luck?
Call healthcare.gov.
Do you have a job? If you change job status - get or leave a job- you are re-eligible to apply for the balance of the year.
posted by theora55 at 10:55 AM on November 2, 2019
Do you have a job? If you change job status - get or leave a job- you are re-eligible to apply for the balance of the year.
posted by theora55 at 10:55 AM on November 2, 2019
From healthcare.gov
Important: Losing individual coverage doesn’t qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period if you voluntarily drop coverage or if you lose coverage because you didn’t pay your premiums ...
Do you desperately need insurance coverage right now? Can you put off any expensive healthcare until January 1? This might be your best option.
Any insurance plan you enroll in now is likely to be of little use to you over the short term because of deductibles unless you have very expensive immediate needs. There are some garbage short term plans out there thanks to Trump and the Republicans, but they do not cover pre-existing conditions, if that is your situation.
posted by JackFlash at 1:10 PM on November 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
Important: Losing individual coverage doesn’t qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period if you voluntarily drop coverage or if you lose coverage because you didn’t pay your premiums ...
Do you desperately need insurance coverage right now? Can you put off any expensive healthcare until January 1? This might be your best option.
Any insurance plan you enroll in now is likely to be of little use to you over the short term because of deductibles unless you have very expensive immediate needs. There are some garbage short term plans out there thanks to Trump and the Republicans, but they do not cover pre-existing conditions, if that is your situation.
posted by JackFlash at 1:10 PM on November 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
#1. Loss of current insurance is a qualifying life event under Obamacare. See list here. That means you can just go in to Healthcare.gove or whatever your state equivalent is (sounds like MassCare in your case) & apply for another plan.
#2. We recently went in & applied and several Bronze & Silver options were literally $0/month with the subsidy. If you are in a "shitty financial position" then perhaps it will be the same for you. The $0/month plans looked pretty craptastic to me but they are, at least, some form of catastrophic insurance for a very low price.
#3. It's worthwhile to call your state's Obamacare/MassCare/WhateverCare people and at least ask them. They may have ideas or possibilities you haven't even considered. Talking to people is very helpful in situations like this as they will know about options and solutions that you don't.
posted by flug at 9:09 PM on November 2, 2019
#2. We recently went in & applied and several Bronze & Silver options were literally $0/month with the subsidy. If you are in a "shitty financial position" then perhaps it will be the same for you. The $0/month plans looked pretty craptastic to me but they are, at least, some form of catastrophic insurance for a very low price.
#3. It's worthwhile to call your state's Obamacare/MassCare/WhateverCare people and at least ask them. They may have ideas or possibilities you haven't even considered. Talking to people is very helpful in situations like this as they will know about options and solutions that you don't.
posted by flug at 9:09 PM on November 2, 2019
Loss of current insurance is a qualifying life event under Obamacare.
Please read the comment just above. Anonymous says they lost their insurance for non-payment of premiums, unfortunately due to financial difficulties. This disqualifies them from Special Enrollment.
There is one possible solution. There is a 90-day grace period, which means you can miss up to two payments and still catch up your payments before the end of the third month. But this grace period only applies if 1). you have an insurance plan purchased from the ACA exchange and 2). you must be receiving ACA subsidies. In this case you must make up all three months of missed payments to keep your insurance.
If you do not meet these two requirements, then you may have a grace period as short as 30 days, depending on the state you are in and the insurance company's own rules.
But, there is also another long shot. You can ask your insurer if they will grant the possibility of reinstating your insurance if you pay all back payments. They don't have to do this. But then again, they do have an incentive to collect more money from you. It is unlikely they will do this, but you have nothing to lose by asking.
posted by JackFlash at 10:36 PM on November 2, 2019
Please read the comment just above. Anonymous says they lost their insurance for non-payment of premiums, unfortunately due to financial difficulties. This disqualifies them from Special Enrollment.
There is one possible solution. There is a 90-day grace period, which means you can miss up to two payments and still catch up your payments before the end of the third month. But this grace period only applies if 1). you have an insurance plan purchased from the ACA exchange and 2). you must be receiving ACA subsidies. In this case you must make up all three months of missed payments to keep your insurance.
If you do not meet these two requirements, then you may have a grace period as short as 30 days, depending on the state you are in and the insurance company's own rules.
But, there is also another long shot. You can ask your insurer if they will grant the possibility of reinstating your insurance if you pay all back payments. They don't have to do this. But then again, they do have an incentive to collect more money from you. It is unlikely they will do this, but you have nothing to lose by asking.
posted by JackFlash at 10:36 PM on November 2, 2019
There's an organization here in MA called Health Care for All that might be able to give you the best advice. They run a Health Insurance Helpline people can call to speak to a counselor. Local organizations near you may provide similar services (where I am they're often based at community hospitals). Health Care for All also has an online form for the Helpline at that link if you'd prefer not to use the phone.
posted by camyram at 6:17 AM on November 4, 2019
posted by camyram at 6:17 AM on November 4, 2019
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