If you are currently a young adult, you probably do not remember a time before the inception of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sometimes called Obamacare. Back then, insurance companies did not have to continue covering you through your college-age years. But one of the many positive changes made by the ACA was the additional requirement to all health insurance plans to continue to offer health insurance coverage to their customers’ dependent children until they reach the age of 26.
Now 26 is still a young age, and you may still be in school or working a job that doesn’t offer employer-sponsored health insurance to all their employees. However, that also means you likely qualify for the low- and middle-income tax subsidies that the ACA additionally offers through their health insurance Marketplace. TrueCoverage is one such ACA Marketplace, with more than 50,000 health plans from more than 600 carriers from which to choose.
These tax subsidies can reduce the cost of your monthly premium to free or close to it, depending on your level of annual income. Or, if you make too little income for an ACA plan, you may be directed to enroll in your state’s Medicaid program.
To enroll in an ACA health plan, it needs to either be the annual Open Enrollment (OE) period for the ACA (typically at the end of the calendar year), or you must have a qualifying event to enroll during the rest of the year as a Special Enrollment Period (SEP). Thankfully, turning 26 is a qualifying event opening the SEP to you. This event is one of several other qualifying events such as moving, pregnancy, and marriage. But it would be best if you acted quickly, as you are only given a 60-day window after your birthday to take advantage of the SEP.
Visit the TrueCoverage Marketplace to see what level of tax subsidy and the monthly premium you qualify for, or call one of our informed agents at 1-888-505-1815 to discuss your options.
