Health Insurance Checklist

The Marketplace is a new way to find health coverage that fits your budget and meets your needs. With one application, you can see all your options and enroll.

• When you use the Health Insurance Marketplace, you’ll fill out an application and see all of the health plans available in your area. You’ll find out if you can get lower costs on your monthly premiums for private insurance plans. You’ll learn if you qualify for lower out-of-pocket costs.
• The Marketplace will also tell you if you qualify for free or low-cost coverage available through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
• You can apply for Marketplace coverage three ways: online, by mail, or in-person with the help of a Navigator or other qualified helper. Telephone help and online chat will be available 24/7 to help you complete your application.
• Open enrollment starts October 1, 2013. Plans and prices will be available then. Coverage starts as soon as January 1, 2014.

Insurance plans in the Marketplace are offered by private companies, and they cover the same core set of benefits called essential health benefits. No plan can turn you away or charge you more because you have an illness or medical condition. They must cover treatments for these conditions. Plans can’t charge women more than men for the same plan.

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While all insurance plans are offered by private companies, the Marketplace is run by either your state or the federal government. Find out if your state is operating the Marketplace by using the menu at the bottom of this page. If your state runs the Marketplace, you’ll get health coverage through your state’s website, not this one.

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In the Marketplace information about prices and benefits will be written in simple language. You get a clear picture of what premiums you’d pay and what benefits and protections you’d get before you enroll. Compare plans based on what’s important to you, and choose the combination of price and coverage that fits your needs and budget.

For more information, visit HealthCare.gov.