I’m really confused about why I can’t get health insurance but am being penalized for not having any.
I was laid off on July 1st of this year, and started a new job in September. I thought I would get health insurance through my new job.
But the insurance they offer is terrible, so I planned to go on my wife’s insurance. She thought her open enrollment was this November, so I waited. It turns out, her open enrollment isn’t until April.
The issue now is that I missed my job’s enrollment period, missed the qualifying event to switch to my wife’s insurance in July because it’s been over 60 days, and now I don’t have any qualifying event for new insurance. I don’t get why I can’t just sign up and pay the premiums myself.
It sounds like you missed the window to switch to your wife’s insurance (60 days after your job’s insurance ended). You might want to check out the ACA (Affordable Care Act) options. You could find a local insurance broker to guide you through the process and explore your choices.
If your current employer’s insurance is too expensive (for 2025, the employee-only rate must be under 9.02% of your household income), you could get coverage through the ACA/marketplace. Open enrollment is happening now. If you want coverage starting January 1, 2025, sign up by December 15.
Casey said: @Justice
I tried the open enrollment but my income is too high to qualify for assistance.
You can still enroll, but you’ll have to pay full price for the insurance. You might pay a lot in the first few months, but you can cancel it when your wife’s plan opens in April. Just be sure to check the cost of her insurance first, as sometimes employer plans are even more expensive than marketplace ones. It might be cheaper to stick with the marketplace plan.
@Justice
Yeah, it’s frustrating! I make too much to get any help, but not enough to afford the $600 a month. The system just doesn’t seem to work for people like me.
Casey said: @Justice
Yeah, it’s frustrating! I make too much to get any help, but not enough to afford the $600 a month. The system just doesn’t seem to work for people like me.
Even if it’s $600 a month, it’s still better than being caught without insurance and facing huge medical bills in case of an emergency. Maybe you could look at a cheaper plan with lower coverage, just to protect yourself in case of a catastrophic event, until your wife’s insurance starts.
Think about it this way: If you were diagnosed with cancer or something serious, you wouldn’t be able to just sign up for insurance right away. Open enrollment periods are set up to stop people from only signing up when they need expensive care. Check out ‘anti-selection’ if you want to know more.
Right now, ACA open enrollment is going on, so you could look into getting a plan for 2025.
Since insurance has to cover pre-existing conditions now, you can only sign up for it during certain times to prevent people from enrolling only when they need expensive treatment. This is like not allowing people to buy home insurance after their house burns down.
The good news is, Open Enrollment is happening now, so you’re in luck. Be careful and avoid accidents, though, since you don’t want to be in a situation where you need expensive care before your wife’s insurance kicks in. You could pick a Bronze Tier plan for now to protect against financial disasters, and switch to your wife’s plan in April.