Major life changes, known as qualifying life events, can allow you a special enrollment period to change your health plan outside of the standard open enrollment period or policy renewal date. If you have a qualifying life event, review your health insurance coverage to see if you, your spouse, or your dependent children need to make any changes.
The following are examples of qualifying life events:
- Getting married or divorced
- Having a baby
- Adopting a child or placing a child for adoption or foster care
- Losing job-based coverage, including resigning, getting laid off, or getting fired
- Turning 26 and no longer eligible to be a dependent on a parent's insurance plan
- Gaining United States citizenship
- Losing other health coverage, e.g. Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP
- Death in the family
- Change in residence to different plan coverage area
Helpful Tips
Act quickly because you will have a limited time frame to make your changes.
- 60 days to apply for an individual plan
- Typically, 30 days to apply if you’re covered by an employer-based plan
You may need to provide documentation proving eligibility to enroll based on the life event. When you apply for new insurance, the plan will let you know what they need as documentation. Ultimately, you are responsible for tracking down any needed documents, such as a marriage license or birth certificate.
What is not a qualifying life event
Loss of coverage due to:
- Failure to pay your premiums
- Voluntarily dropped coverage
- Failure to provide requested information
For other qualifying life event information, learn more or Marketplace plan information
6/18/2024