Don't wait until you actually need insurance coverage to find out what you health insurance plan ... [+]
The times they may be a-changin’, but how easily can you change your health insurance plan? Your insurance plan’s coverage or other details may have changed. Your preferred doctors may have changed what insurance they accept. Your medical conditions and expenses may have changed. You may have changed locations or jobs. Your financial situation may have changed so that you no longer can afford your current insurance premiums. Or your other life situations may have changed, such as now having those things that you call a spouse or kids in your house. Any of these changes may mean that your current health insurance plan no longer fits you. So can you just go ahead and change out of your current insurance plan any time like you would a pair of low-rise jeans? Not exactly.
When can you make changes to your insurance?
Typically you have to wait for the Open Enrollment Period for your health benefits each year. This tends to run in late fall-early Winter, somewhere in the November 1 to December 15 time period. It’s important to know when exactly this Open Enrollment Period begins and ends. Because once it’s passed, you may have to wait another year to make any changes. During this Open Enrollment Period, you can elect to do nothing and allow your current health insurance to be renewed or you search for a plan that works better for you. Any changes won’t immediately take effect, though. Usually they will begin January 1 or February 1 of the ensuing year. Insurance plans do this to prevent you from switching to more expensive and better insurance coverage as soon as you know you are going to have a health problem and then back to less expensive and more limited insurance coverage when you know that you are in the clear. You won’t be able to simply say, “Honey, I think I hurt myself. Can you switch insurance plans now before I go to the Emergency Room?” Remember most insurance companies out there are in fact businesses that want to make money for themselves and their shareholders.
How do you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period?
An exception is when you experience what’s considered a “Qualifying Life Event” and thus qualify for a “Special Enrollment Period.” Such “Qualifying Life Events” include a major change in marital status such as getting married, divorced or legally separated, giving birth or adopting a child, a major change in your job status such as starting, ending or losing one, losing your current health insurance coverage, suffering a death in your family, moving to a new ZIP code, county, or country, becoming a U.S. citizen or leaving incarceration. You can find a more complete list of such events on the Healthcare.gov website. So, if you really want to change your health insurance before the Open Enrollment Period, you could go to your spouse and say, “The past 20 years with you have been great. But it’s March and I really would like to switch health insurance plans right now...”
If you do qualify for a “Special Enrollment Period,” you’ve got a limited time (usually 60 days) to make any changes to your insurance policy. Of course, you may have to provide real hard evidence that you did indeed have a “Qualifying Life Event.” And, by the way, a new Tinder account is not enough proof that you’ve had a change in marital status.
How do you cancel your health insurance plan?
Now if you want to cancel your health insurance rather changing it or getting a new plan, you don’t have to wait. You can cancel anytime. This entail contacting either your insurance provider or the health insurance marketplace through which you got your plan. This will probably involve you filling out forms to make things official. You can’t simply ghost your insurance provider. Make sure that you have arranged the proper coverage or at least fully realize the ramifications of not having your current insurance coverage before canceling. You expect the insurance plan to take you back in later when you bring flowers and say, “I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. That wasn’t me speaking.”
How do you find alternatives to your current insurance plan?
If you are ready for something different, look around. Contact the benefits office in your workplace, talk to your current insurance provide or your insurance broker or check out your state’s health insurance marketplace website to find out about your options. Once you know your options, research each of them thoroughly by visiting their designated websites and reviewing their accompanying documentation. Insurance policy documentation can be notoriously difficult to read. Don’t expect to find statements like, “Don’t worry, we’ll cover everything that you need when you receive medically-necessary treatment or are hospitalized.” The coverage itself can be complicated with lots of different exceptions listed in finer print. That’s why it can be helpful to talk to others who have had that kind of insurance plan and had to actually use the coverage. They can tell you how easy or difficult it was to get the insurance plan to pay for different things.
Know what each potential insurance plan will require you to pay regularly and for each type of service you may get. Be aware of what is and is not included in insurance coverage. Check to see if your preferred doctors accept the insurance plan.
It’s important to find an insurance plan that fits not only your current situation but also anything that may happen to you down the road. As 2020 should have taught everyone, life can be very unpredictable. Don’t treat health insurance like you would a streaming service subscription and simply focus on how much you have to pay and what you get right now. Think about what disasters may happen and whether the insurance plan will actually cover them.
One thing’s for sure. Your future is not going to be exactly like your past or your present. The times are gonna be a-changin’. Just make sure that you change your health insurance plan when you can if need be.
