If you've missed open enrollment, you still have several options.
Check to see if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP)
Outside of open enrollment, you can still buy major medical insurance if you've experienced a qualifying life event. This would open up what’s called a special enrollment period, or SEP.
Common qualifying live events:
- Having a baby, adopting a child, or placing a child in foster care
- Getting married
- Involuntarily losing health coverage (aging out of a parent's policy, losing coverage provided by an employer, losing coverage due to divorce)
- Moving to an area with different policies available
- Changes in your income that affect the coverage you qualify for
Important to know:
You can purchase dental and vision insurance at any time during the year.
Consider short-term medical insurance
If you find yourself outside of open enrollment and don't qualify for a special enrollment period, you can still get a form of coverage called short-term medical insurance.
Short-term policies work the same way as traditional insurance but include more limitations. You can check out the policies available through eHealth, an insurance marketplace similar to healthcare.gov.