What day do I have to sign up for Health Insurance to get a 1st of the month effective date?

This depends on your situation. If you are a consumer that will qualify for a tax subsidy, you need to sign up for a plan by the 15th of the month to get an effective date for the first day of the following month. For example, you need to sign up my March 15 to have an effective date for April 1. If you go directly to a carrier (meaning you don’t go through healthcare.gov to sign up for a policy) you will have until the end of the month–at least with most carriers. For example you could sign up as late as March 31 for an April 1 effective policy.

Keep in mind that this is only applicable for those who are applying for group insurance–through an employer, or those who have a qualifying event. Everyone else must enroll during Open Enrollment.

Patrick Browne

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