Marketplace Health Insurance

There are four categories of health insurance plans: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each type of plan has different levels of coverage and costs. The type of plan that is right for you depends on your needs and budget.

• Bronze plans have the lowest monthly premiums, but they also have the highest out-of-pocket costs.
• Silver plans have higher monthly premiums, but they also have lower out-of-pocket costs in comparison to Bronze plans. Sliver plans help provide more balance between monthly payments and out-of-pocket costs.
• Gold plans offer lower out-of-pocket costs in exchange for higher monthly premiums.
• Platinum plans have the highest monthly premiums and the lowest out-of-pocket costs of any health insurance plan available. Due to high monthly premiums, deductibles are very low, meaning your plan starts paying its share earlier than for other categories of plans.

Non-Marketplace Health Insurance plans are not offered on the federal or state Health Insurance Marketplaces.

Both On-Marketplace and Off-Marketplace plans require payment of a premium, which is the amount you pay to the insurance company for your health insurance coverage.

Off-Marketplace plans may have lower premiums than plans offered on the Marketplaces.

To be eligible to enroll in health coverage through the health insurance marketplace, you:

• Must live in the United States.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national (or be lawfully present). Learn about eligible immigration statuses.
• Cannot be incarcerated.

Depending on your expected household income for the year, you may qualify for:

• Lower costs for your Marketplace plan, like the premium tax credit that lowers your monthly insurance bill, and for extra savings on out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and copayments.
• Coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Your children may qualify for CHIP, even if you don’t qualify for Medicaid.

• November 1: Open enrollment starts for health coverage. This is the first day you can enroll in, re-enroll in, or change health plans through the Marketplace. Coverage can start as soon as January 1st.
• December 15: Last day to enroll in or change plans for coverage to start January 1st.
• January 1: Coverage starts for those who enroll in or change plans by December 15th.
• January 15: Open enrollment ends. This is the last day to enroll in or change health plans for the year. After January 15th, you can enroll in or change plans only if you qualify for a special enrollment period.
• February 1: Coverage starts for those who enroll in or change plans December 16th through January 15th.