2020 Open Enrollment For Health Insurance: All That You Need To Know

Going for insurance should be considered as the best investment for every individual and every business. And for individuals, health insurance is often considered equally important as life insurance. If you are living in the USA, you only have 6 weeks in most of the states in which you can make enrollment for health insurance or take the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.

Here is everything that you need to know about this insurance mechanism, how to get it on the personal level, how to go for family health care insurance and more : –

• The duration of enrollment for health insurance varies from state to state but the total duration is fixed and is usually for six weeks. Only in special cases, you will be allowed to take health insurance after the prescribed period.
• Going for health insurance is not mandatory and a non-compliance will not invite a penalty in every state. In 2020, these states have the individual mandate on health insurance- California, District of Columbia. Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Not just for 2020, whenever you are planning to go for health insurance in the future, it is important to check the mandate and find out if something is mandatory or not.
• This open enrollment time is not just meant for new insurance policies but is even the time when you can make changes in your existing health insurance plan and adjust the coverage or the amount of annual premium that you are supposed to pay. Besides this, you can even use this time to renew your existing policy before it expires.
• It is important to understand that this enrollment window is only open for health insurance. This includes individual health insurance, family health care insurance and other types of health insurance. You cannot buy any other type of insurance policy under this scheme.
• Missing out this enrollment period might mean that you will have to wait for 1 year to get your health insurance. However, in special cases like divorce, marriage, the birth of a child, adoption, death of the partner that leaves you without an insurance coverage, the partner whose insurance policy covers you loses the job and health insurance, you fall out of the eligibility of employer’s health insurance plan and more, you can get a health insurance even outside the enrollment duration.
• For both individual and family insurance plans, you have four options for the type of policy that you can choose. These options are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
• As per ACA, 2020, there has been a considerable reduction in the value of insurance premiums when it comes to health insurance. Some costs have dropped for the first time while other premiums are close to 1% making it beneficial for everyone. Even if it is not mandatory in your place to go for a health insurance policy, you should consider it as a wise investment and make this investment for your health and cover the contingencies of the future. Not every year the premiums would be as low as they are this year. It is also important to understand that not every premium has dropped. So, make sure that you read the terms and conditions and do some research before going for a health insurance policy.
• Every health insurance plan must cover some mandatory benefits. These include the care of the patient including chronic diseases, emergency care, expenses of hospitalization, pregnancy care, newborn care, mental health care, prescription medicines, rehabilitation expenses, cost of testing, preventive measures and dental and eye care expenses of children. The percentage of coverage varies from policy to policy.
• Your eligibility for tax credits depends on the number of your family members, your income and the family income.
• You have multiple short-term and long-term options when it comes to going for health insurance plans. Usually, the short-term plans offer low-cost alternatives that can easily fit into everyone’s budget. So, if you are planning to leave the state or want to change your health insurance plan in the near future, it is better that you go for a short-term plan to save money while paying the insurance premiums and yet enjoy the coverage of a regular health insurance plan.