Want To Start The New Year With Health Insurance? Today's The Deadline To Enroll

Today is your last chance to enroll for health coverage under the federal Affordable Health Care Act if you want to have health insurance by January 1, 2014. 

Although on Monday, the White House announced a 24-hour extension of the deadline, giving people until midnight on December 24 to enroll in healthcare coverage through Healthcare.gov, this deadline applies only to the federally facilitated marketplace. As a state-based marketplace, Access Health CT has established its own enrollment deadlines, which remain unchanged.  

If you miss the state's December 23 deadline to have healthcare by New Year's Day, don't worry. You can still get coverage as the enrollment period for the program continues through March 31, 2014. 
 
If your existing health insurance policy was cancelled as a result of the new federal insurance program, Access Health CT announced on Friday that it has a plan in place to help you get access to catastrophic insurance plans. 

Many of the policies cancelled for non-compliance were high-deductible plans. The current catastrophic plans available offer the closest options for similar coverage. To enroll, people will need to apply for a "hardship" exemption, and provide proof of dropped coverage.  Previously, having a policy cancelled was not considered a qualifying "hardship," but will now be added to the list of qualifying events.

Once an exemption is granted, individuals will then qualify for a 60-day "special enrollment" period where they can change from their current plan to a catastrophic plan option. Individuals must apply for this exemption status during the open enrollment period, which ends on March 31.

The open enrollment deadline to obtain health insurance by January 1 remains unchanged, so you'll still need to complete your application by December 23 and payment must be received by the insurance carrier on or before January 10, 2014. 

To enroll you'll need the following information and documentation:

• Birthdates
• Social Security numbers
• Citizenship or immigration status
• Tax returns from previous years
• Employer and income information (pay stubs, W2s etc.)
• Policy numbers of any health insurance coverage for you or a member of your family may be eligible.