Millennials- You Still May Be Able to Get Covered for Health Insurance

Do you have a friend or family member that is currently uninsured??

With 1 in 6 people and an even higher 1 in 4 young adults in the U.S.  currently without health insurance,  we definitely have to address how important it is for every American to be covered by health insurance.

Here’s what you can do to make sure your loved ones receive health care:

Let them know that insurance is important—and affordable. Encourage them to visit GetCoveredAmerica.org. They may qualify to enroll now if they’ve experienced a “Qualifying Life Event.” If not, tell them to mark their calendar for November 15th, 2014 — that’s when the Marketplace opens again for 2015 coverage! And let them know help is available if they have questions.

Here’s a Q & A session I participated in last month about “Health Care Enrollment” with Annette Raveneau from  Get Covered America @GetCoveredUS.

Get Covered 101 Common Questions:

• What is “Open Enrollment”? Why does this matter?

Open Enrollment is the period of time when you can enroll in a health insurance plan in the Marketplace and check to see if you qualify for help paying for your insurance.More than half of all uninsured Americans can get covered for under $100 a month. And 4 in 5 people, who have already signed up, got help paying for their insurance.Open enrollment for 2015 starts on November 15th, but certain changes in your life, called “qualifying life events,” could allow you to get covered through the health insurance marketplace now.

• What are “qualifying life events”? Am I eligible to enroll now?  Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) remain available to everyone eligible throughout the year. But people can also enroll if they’ve had a “qualifying life event” — meaning they’ve gotten married or divorced, had a baby, adopted a child, placed a child up for adoption, moved residences, gained citizenship, left incarceration, graduated from college or lost their health coverage. In most cases, once such an event occurs, a person has a 60-day window to get coverage.

• Where can I find more information about specific “qualifying life events”:
  • Getting Married: https://www.getcoveredamerica.org/after-i-do/
  • Having a Baby:  https://www.getcoveredamerica.org/happy-mothers-day-to-new-moms/
  • After Divorce or Job Loss: https://www.getcoveredamerica.org/life-hands-lemons/
  • College graduation: https://www.getcoveredamerica.org/congrats-grad/

•  How do you enroll? Visit GetCoveredAmerica.org to learn how to enroll in health insurance and to get answers to common questions.  The site’s content is also shareable via Facebook and Twitter at Facebook/GetCoveredAmerica and Twitter.com/GetCoveredUS.

• What if I can’t afford health insurance? Financial help is available. In fact, over half of Americans under 35 could get covered for under $50 a month!  More than half of all uninsured Americans can get covered for under $100 a month. And 4 in 5 people, who have already signed up, got help paying for their insurance. Use the “Get Covered Calculator” to see how much help you could qualify for to cover your monthly insurance cost.   http://www.getcoveredamerica.org/calculator/  (Here’s an embeddable version of the cost estimator: https://www.getcoveredamerica.org/calculator/embed/)

• What if I need help?  If you get stumped with your application, no worries! Local help is available.  Use Get Covered America 101 page (http://www.getcoveredamerica.org/get-covered-101) to find answers to the most commonly asked questions, or their locator tool to find an expert who can help.  By entering your zip code, you will get the names and phone numbers of experts who can help you complete your application and understand your health insurance options. http://www.getcoveredamerica.org/locator/