Deadline to Enroll in Health Insurance for January 1st Effective Date is Extended!

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid announced late evening on December 15^th that the deadline to enroll in coverage that would start on January 1^st is now extended for most states to December 17^th.

If you live in one of the below states, which uses the Federal Marketplace, you will have until December 17^th at 11:59 p.m. PST to shop and enroll in a health insurance plan.

If you live in a state that runs its own state exchange, you may also have an extension to the deadline to enroll in a plan that will go into effect on January 1^st. The states with deadline extensions and their new deadlines are:

• Massachusetts – New deadline is December 23^rd for January 1^st start date
• Rhode Island – New deadline is December 23^rd for January 1^st start date
• Washington State – New deadline is December 23^rd for January 1^st start date
• Minnesota – New deadline is December 23^rd for a January 1^st start date
• Colorado – If you started an application for health insurance by December 15^th but were unable to finish, the State Exchange will work with you to get you enrolled for a January 1^st start date. Also, if you were going to enroll in Colorado HealthOp, Access Health Colorado and some Rocky Mountain Health Plans, the new deadline is December 31st for a January 1^st start date
• Tennessee – consumers who had Community Health Alliance health insurance in 2015 will have until December 31^st to enroll in a new health plan with a January 1^st start date
• New York – New deadline is December 19^th for a January 1^st start date
• Maryland – New deadline is December 18^th for a January 1^st start date if consumer started application by December 15^th
• California – New deadline is December 17^th for a January 1^st start date

There are also certain carriers that are giving extensions to enroll in plans that will start on January 1^st in addition to the few listed above. Those carriers and their new deadlines are:

• Anthem in NV, IN, KY, GA, CT, NH, ME, VA, OH, MO, CO: New deadline is December 31^st
• Hallmark HCSC: New deadline for Off Exchange plans (no subsidy) is December 17^th
• Humana: New deadline for Off Exchange plans (no subsidy) is December 17^th
• Sharp: New deadline for Off Exchange plans (no subsidy) is December 17^th

For those who are feeling grateful for the extra 48-hours to enroll in a new health insurance plan that will start on January 1^st can thank the flood of millions of Americans who either needed new insurance or were ready to shop and switch to a better plan, because it caused long wait lines with both the Federal Marketplace and the states exchanges, which prompted the Government to give us all more time.