Open enrollment is officially open, which means it is the perfect time to sign up for the right health insurance policy for the upcoming year. The deadline to sign up for 2015 health insurance coverage is February 15, 2015. If you do not sign up for health insurance coverage during open enrollment, you will be left without health insurance coverage for the upcoming year and will face heavy fines.
The fee for not having health insurance in 2015 is $325 per adult and $162.50 per child in your household, or 2 percent of your total household income, whichever amount is more. The fee will be taken out of your 2015 federal tax return, which most people will file early in 2016.
The only way that you can sign up for health insurance outside of open enrollment is if you have a life event that qualifies you for a special enrollment period. Some of the most common qualifying life events include:
- Gaining or losing a dependent, such as getting married, divorced, having a baby, or putting a child up for adoption.
- Having a change in your household income that affects your eligibility for cost sharing reductions or premium tax credits.
- Becoming a member of a federally recognized shareholder or tribe in an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Corporation.
- Losing your health insurance coverage due to the loss of your job, aging off of your parentâ's health plan, losing your eligibility for CHIP or Medicaid, or any other similar circumstance. Keep in mind that voluntarily giving up your health insurance coverage does not qualify you for a special enrollment period.
Contact the insurance professionals at Cook, Disharoon & Greathouse in Oakland, California for all of your health insurance needs. We will work with you to ensure that you have the right amount of health coverage for the upcoming year.
