If you’ve lost your health insurance because you were laid off or fired, you will have to face many realities, and losing your health insurance plan is one. Most Americans get employer-based health insurance coverage, and losing your job means losing your health coverage. However, there are some ways to get health insurance if you’ve lost your job, depending on your situation. Here are a few of them.
Spouse’s Insurance
Your spouse’s health insurance plan might be a good solution if you can get on your spouse’s employer-provided health care plan. Your spouse can contact their company’s human resources department for details.
COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act)
COBRA lets you buy coverage through your previous employer. You have 60 days from losing your job to buy the coverage, and once you are covered, you can keep your plan for up to 18 months. However, your premiums will be high since the employer is no longer paying their percent share.
Affordable Care Act Marketplace
Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows you to enroll any time of the year for certain life events, including a job loss. Under normal situations, you’ll qualify for a 60-day Special Enrollment Period after losing your job to enroll in an ACA health care plan rather than making you wait until the open enrollment period, which starts in January. If you miss your 60-day Special Enrollment Period, you’ll have to wait until January.
Medicaid
Consider applying for Medicaid if you have lost a big part of your monthly income. This coverage was designed to assist low-income individuals.
