Open Enrollment is not the only door. A qualifying life event opens a 60-day window, Medicaid and CHIP have no window at all, and short-term coverage can be bought any month of the year. Tell us your ZIP code and a licensed agent will tell you which of those is actually open to you.
Health Enrollment Center is operated by Sprinter Insurance Agency LLC, a licensed insurance agency. We are not HealthCare.gov, not a state or federal marketplace, and not affiliated with any government agency.
Open Enrollment generally runs from November 1 to January 15, and several state-run marketplaces set their own, longer dates. If that window has closed, going without coverage is not your only remaining choice — but which options you have depends on your situation, and some of them have deadlines of their own.
A qualifying life event opens a Special Enrollment Period — usually 60 days — during which you can enroll in a full marketplace plan with any premium tax credit you qualify for.
The 60 days is a real deadline and it usually runs from the date of the event, not from the date you get around to it. You will normally have to document what happened. If you think something on that list applies to you, it is worth a call today rather than next month.
One thing that does not qualify: voluntarily dropping coverage. Cancelling a plan yourself, or cancelling COBRA before it runs out, does not open a Special Enrollment Period.
Medicaid and CHIP accept applications every month of the year. Eligibility is set by your state and depends on your household income and size, and in states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA, considerably more adults qualify than most people assume.
If your income has dropped, this is the first thing to check. It is also free to check.
Short-term medical can be purchased outside any enrollment window, and for a genuine gap — a few months until January 1, or until new employer coverage starts — it can be the right call.
It is important to be clear about what it is. Short-term plans do not provide comprehensive medical coverage and do not satisfy minimum essential coverage under the ACA. They typically exclude pre-existing conditions, they can ask health questions and decline you, and they may cap what they pay. How long they can last, and whether they are sold at all, is decided state by state.
If you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, a marketplace plan is almost always the stronger option, and we will tell you so.
If none of the above applies, the next Open Enrollment is the door, and coverage bought then generally starts January 1. That is a real answer, and sometimes it is the honest one. A licensed agent can get you set up now so that nothing is left to the last week of the window.
This takes one short conversation. A licensed agent will ask what changed and when, check whether it opens a Special Enrollment Period, check Medicaid and CHIP eligibility, and price whatever is genuinely available to you. There is no cost and no obligation, and marketplace plans cost exactly the same through us as they do on your own.
Don't see yours? Call a licensed agent — most answers take under two minutes.
Generally 60 days from the date the coverage ended, and in many cases you can apply in the 60 days beforehand as well so there is no gap. Losing job-based coverage is a qualifying life event; quitting a plan you could have kept is not. Because the clock usually starts at the event rather than the day you call, do not wait on this one.
Yes. A Special Enrollment Period gets you into the same marketplace plans with the same premium tax credits available during Open Enrollment. Eligibility and the amount are determined by the Marketplace based on your household size, income and county.
No. Short-term medical does not provide comprehensive coverage and does not satisfy minimum essential coverage under the ACA. It typically does not cover pre-existing conditions, can be medically underwritten, and may have benefit limits. It can bridge a gap, but it is not a replacement for a major medical plan.
It depends on the event — typically a termination or coverage-end letter, a lease or other proof of a move, a marriage certificate, or a birth or adoption record. Gather it early; the marketplace can ask for it and the 60-day clock does not pause while you look for paperwork.
It does not affect a marketplace plan at all — ACA plans are guaranteed issue and cannot decline you or charge you more for your health history. It matters a great deal for short-term plans, which generally exclude pre-existing conditions and can turn you down. That is usually the deciding factor between the two.
No. We're a licensed insurance agency paid by the carriers, not by you. The premium of any plan is identical whether you enroll through us or directly with the insurer — you just also get an agent who handles renewals and claims questions.
No. Health Enrollment Center is a brand operated by Sprinter Insurance Agency LLC, a private licensed insurance agency. We are not HealthCare.gov, not a state exchange, and not affiliated with any government agency. We help you enroll in marketplace plans when they're the best fit, and we also show private plans the marketplace doesn't carry.
Run the free plan finder or talk to a licensed agent now — no cost, no obligation.