In my town of Romeoville, Illinois or any other town in America, now that Open Enrollment under the Affordable Care Act has concluded, the only way to purchase Health Insurance is through a Special Election Period. Similar to an SEP in the Medicare Advantage world, there are several things that qualify you for this enrollment. Without a qualifying event, you cannot purchase insurance.
Here are a list of things that qualify for an SEP…
- Renewal of a grandfather or non-grandfathered individual major medical plan in 2014. HOWEVER, so far I am hearing only Assurant is honoring this type of SEP. The other carriers I have asked have said no.
- Return from active military duty
- Release from Prison
- Gain of immigration or citizenship status
- Permanent move to a different state
Loss of Minimum Essential coverage due to:
- Plan discontinued that did not meet Health Care Reform requirements
- Legal Separation or divorce
- Termination of domestic partnership or Civil Union ( in states where this applies)
- Change in full-time employment status
- Involuntary loss of employer sponsored health insurance
- Death of a parent or Spouse
- Change in dependent status as a result of turning 26
Gaining or becoming a dependent due to:
- Marriage
- Domestic Partnership
- Birth / adoption of Children
- Placement for adoption of children
- Guardian/court ordered dependent
You have 60 days from the date of the qualifying event.
In the event that the qualifying event is a renewal from a grandfathered or non-grandfathered plan, the renewal date will serve as the qualifying date.