ObamaCare Extra Enrollment 2015 March 15 – April 30


An extra enrollment period for ObamaCare will take place from March 15 – April 30, 2015. This is a special enrollment period for people who owe the ObamaCare tax for 2014 and were confused about enrollment for 2015. It provides an extra enrollment opportunity to avoid the fee for the rest of 2015.

Most states, including all states that use HealthCare.Gov, have extended enrollment until the 30th. State’s that have their own exchanges may cut the extension off between April 15th and April 30th.
Extra Enrollment Period” is an unofficial term used to describe a one-off Special Enrollment Period outside of Open Enrollment. The March 15 to April 30th extra enrollment period will take place in 2015 only!
There are many things that qualify you for a special enrollment period. If you want to sign up for Marketplace insurance, you should fill out the Healthcare.gov screener, even if you don’t meet all the criteria for a specific listed special enrollment. The only way to know for sure if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period is to make the attempt.

Here is what you need to know about the 2015 Extra ObamaCare enrollment period for those without coverage:

  • Open Enrollment officially ended February 15th, 2015, however, those who had trouble enrolling got a little extra time.
  • The 2015 extra enrollment period starts March 15th, 2015 and ends April 30th, 2015.
  • The extra enrollment period is meant to give those without coverage an opportunity to avoid the bulk of the fee for 2015.
  • Those who don’t have a plan for 2015 yet will still owe the fee for months they don’t have coverage, or an exemption.
  • The only time you can get cost assistance is during open enrollment (or during a special enrollment periods like the March to April extra enrollment period).
  • Medicaid and CHIP are offered year round. Find out what to do if you got denied Medicaid or CHIP.
  • Other ObamaCare extensions existed for 2014.

You may qualify for the extra enrollment period if:

  • You aren’t currently enrolled in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace for 2015,
  • You paid the fee with your 2014 federal income tax return, for not having health coverage in 2014, and
  • You were confused or didn’t know about open enrollment dates for 2015 coverage, and need another opportunity to enroll in coverage for the remainder of 2015.

More information on this one time ObamaCare special enrollment period can be found at HealthCare.Gov.

Why is there an Extra Enrollment Period for ObamaCare in 2015?

The additional enrollment period for 2015 is a reaction to the fact that there are still many who are confused about the law. One of the main points of confusion is about how the fee works. The first time many will realize exactly how the fee works is when they file their 2014 taxes before the April 15th tax deadline.

Instead of having a bunch of people wanting coverage, but realizing that they will face the fee again in 2015 for not having it, officials have decided to offer a special enrollment opportunity.

Special enrollment periods, and the qualifying life events that trigger them, are built into the law. So aside from all the normal qualifying life events that trigger special enrollment periods, more will likely be added for March 15th – April 30th.

Every year we move forward under the ACA, the fee goes up, and open enrollment windows get more narrow. If you don’t have health insurance yet, consider getting a short-term plan to cover you until the next enrollment date. You won’t avoid the fee, but you won’t go without coverage either.

In some limited cases, insurers offer ACA qualified plans year-round (for example: all plans offered in the Marketplace in Nevada must be offered throughout the year). If you don’t qualify for a special enrollment period, check to see if private insurers are offering plans in your region. These plans wont qualify for subsidies if they are purchased outside of the Marketplace, but if you are lucky enough to find one, you won’t owe the fee for not having coverage.
If you don’t qualify for the extra enrollment period for 2015, you may still qualify for other special enrollment periods or exemptions. Find out what to do if you missed the deadline.

Author: Thomas DeMichele

Thomas DeMichele is the head writer and founder of ObamaCareFacts.com, FactsOnMedicare.com, and other websites. He has been in the health insurance and healthcare information field since 2012. ObamaCareFacts.com is a...

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I have sent “documentation” that ObamaCare demanded at least six times. The documentation I sent had proper identifiers, and was exact in every detail with cover letters and explanations. I have waited on hold for hours, and talked to representatives in person, as I was requested to do by your agency. I get letters monthly demanding the same items I have mailed in for months. Some of your requests overlap, demanding different sets of documents be sent. My citizenship and healthcare coverage is now at risk. I am Native American, so I am definitely a “citizen”. I recognize your system is very flawed. There is no continuity of communication and no two-way communication by mail, on-line, or by phone, because no one seems to have any authority to make decisions and problem-solve. Your “use” of technology takes away all hope of resolution. At first, I thought the documentation I sent would eventually “catch-up” with your requests, but that didn’t happen. How sad, and a waste of time and resources, that no one seems to care about the thousands of citizens with this same problem.

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My wife and I are retired and living in Mexico because the cost of living is so much lower there. We retired on March 2012 and moved to Mexico. We both have dual-citizenship and maintain a permanent residence with our son in Colorado. Our CPA for over 25 years told us when we moved that we did not have to prepare annual tax report because of our SS only income. I am a military veteran and have the VA available to me for medical issues, my wife does not. Please advise me how we stand on Obamacare for my wife.

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I relocated from Ghana to the USA on April 26, 2015. I got hired and started work in August 2015. My entire AGI for 2015 was 5915. My employer would not provide health insurance because i had not met the a specific tenure. Enrollment was not open for me to purchase insurance from the market place even whilst unemployed.

Would I be charged the penalty or can i claim an exemption?

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I was unable to meet the deadline as I was unable to get a job until May of 2015. My question is does that have any exemption possibility? and if not why have a deadline if you are going to fine people, for months not having healthcare, regardless??

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I kept missing deadlines because I found out about them after they had passed. I had insurance last year until my client of 9 years passed away. I still worked for the company but my hours had dropped below the hours needed to keep the insurance. I did regain those hours, but I was a couple of days too late. I work for the state. In Home Support Services. I am a caregiver. What can I do to take care of this. I have an appointment with a enrollment counsler on November 3. I have already met with her on October 20. Ms.Enriquez says that I am going to get penalised for lack of knowledge on this medical insurance stuff. I rarely ever see or need a doctor.The shortest time between doctor visits was a little over a year, the longest time was approximately 5 years.Do I qualify help or exemption on this medical insurance thing ? I will appreciate any information that you can get for me on this ! Thank you for your time ! Sincerely, H.

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Why is deadlines anyways? A person should be able to get insurance any day they can.I had insurance thru cobra from my last place of employment, the comany handling the insurance told me from day one that I was covered until the end of march of 2016, yeah 2016, was going to have a cat scan done the first of this month per my dr.orders, found out that the medical part of the insurance was cancelled the end of march this year maybe end of February I am getting messed up, they kept my dental insurance active, they did not notify me at all, here I thought I was covered until 3/30/2016, i had to leave my place of employment because of medical reasons and the company paid for the insurance thru cobra, i didn’t get anything in writing telling me what was covered and for how long, I would just get a summary in the mail saying that month was paid and July of 2014 they stoped sending it I contacted them and they said not to worry I was covered until end of march in 2016 the statement was just a formality I really didn’t need it because the company I worked for had paid it in full .cobra shut me off except dental, now I am screwed, help, I don’t work, I am 63 not old enough for Medicare I am getting my social security money and I have to pay the IRS for 2014 on top of that, help please, I have always had insurance thru an employer I don’t know what I am doing

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We are a small company – about 88 folks – and my understanding is that I don’t sign up until 2016. Is that correct?
Unfortunately due the complex nature of the ACA I may have to shut down and thus 88 people, including my office staff may not be employed. This is totally dumb. So 95 people on the unemployment role vs 95 people working. Does that make sense? I realize that Obama wants the entire population of the US on the streets – oh well.

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The ‘special enrollment’ requirements negates the free market. I used to be able to jump from plan to plan based on premium rates. if I didn’t like one plan, I’d move to another…no issues. Now, I am locked into my plan and cannot reduce my expenditures for Health Coverage until the next “open enrollment” which the does not take effect till Jan 2016. The system sucks and I cannot wait for this fiasco to disappear!!!!

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So how much of our taxpayer dollars do you get to defend every complaint against Obama care posted here? If it is so great why is congress not required to use it?

How do you justify not allowing people to change their insurance at will, have you actuall called the exchange ? The people have zero knowledge about the law and are absolutely no help

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Help need health. lnsurance Dental And Vision Poor health all needed feel very ill need emergency

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when does enrollment open back up?????

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I have insurance until may 7, 2015 and need insurance after that. Will I still owe a fee even after getting insurance?

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I ended getting insurance yesterday through a local company. They said my insurance coverage starts June 1st. Will I have a problem with meeting the April 30th deadline.

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I have seizures that affect my mental status, with remembering things as one and I really need help..

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My husband lost his job toward the end of the year. He just start working again in January. We just got the insurance information and it’s to high. Am wondering if we can still apply for the Obama Care.

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HELP!!!!!

I never really paid too close attention to the health care changes, as I always had health care through my employer for the past 25+ years. That all changed in January, now my life is turned upside down due to this health care changes!

I lost my job January 16th, 2015 I immediately sought health care coverage for myself, my husband and my daughter. I looked at short term plans to get us through, until I could find work again. I was denied due to a pre-exisisting condition for which I take blood thinners. So fine, my daughter and husband went on one policy. A month to month short term plan with Preferred One, and I went on another through Medica.

February 19th I filled out the second month application for coverage for my daughter and husband. On Feb 24th, my daughter had a doctor visit for female issues, and had a pap smear and vaginal ultrasound. Feb 25th I received notification my husband and daughter’s coverage for March was approved and a few days later I received the insurance cards in the mail. A few weeks later my daughter was experiencing issues and we found out she needed surgery. I had the hospital call our temp insurance to see if it was covered and it was. We proceeded with the surgery. (everything now fine with her).

However, on March 24th, I received a letter from Preferred One rescinding coverage effective for the Feb-Mar time frame. They stated that on “question 5e- I stated that my daughter was not seen for any other reasons other than preventative care with in the last 30 days”. This was a correct statement, as my daughter had not seen anyone in the previous 30 days. However, they are saying it is 30 days from when the coverage would be effective. Not to mention, I had thought that a pap smear was preventative care…is it NOT?

So, not only have I lost my job…..but now I have a $20,000 bill we can not afford to pay.

Then, to make matter’s worse (which I thought could not be possible). I went to find coverage elsewhere for my husband and daughter. Only to come to find out the “OPEN ENROLLMENT” period has expired. I then see there is “SPECIAL ENROLLMENT” available. Great I think! Well, maybe not. To qualify for special enrollment you could have 1) Lost your job or 2) Lost your current health care coverage. Perfect I thought, as both has happened to us. Well, think again. You have to have lost your job with in the past 60 days. It is now outside that period, so we are out of luck there. And, because the coverage I did have for them immediately following the loss of my job was short term coverage that does not qualify as loss of coverage! We are SOL!

I have made several phone calls and am IN COMPLETE SHOCK! That is 2015, in the United States, I can not purchase health care coverage ANYWHERE for my daughter and husband. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I have worked my entire life, paid monthly premiums into health care coverage consistently for over 30 years, have been an honest and hardworking individual, and am now screwed.

And to top it off, the last person I spoke with told me our family didn’t qualify for any other assistance because my husband makes more that the allowed amount. She did offer the lovely advice if he were to get fired from his job, we could qualify for the “SPECIAL ENROLLMENT”!

Finally, I’m also learning I will now be fined for every month we go without coverage, even though I would willing to pay and purchase it if I could find it available!

Are you kidding me? So much for healthcare for everyone…..

Signed,

Extremely Disappointed in the Health Care System

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If Obamacare is mandatory, you should be able to enroll at ANY TIME! Once again, it’s the little people, that already have no money (FYI…that’s why we don’t have insurance in the first place!), that are the ones being punished for not having insurance AND for not getting enrolled during “open enrollment”.

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I’m confused where I should be looking for insurance. I left my job in order to take care of my ill mother. When I put in my income which is 0 it brings up plans that are hundreds of dollars a month. Is this correct? How am I suppose to afford that with no income?

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I do not understand. I missed the deadline because I’ve been unemployed since 2009. I did not enroll because I didn’t think I was eligible.

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Was not allowed to create an account. Message – We may need to fix a bug. No wonder people are confused and don’t have ObamaCare…. Don’t create a fee for those who don’t have it until it is simple to sign up…

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lakeisha lynetta hagler

These past five years have been the worse as I am concerned with medical coverage since ever having employment and unemployed. COBRA coverage was always an option.

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My husband and i lost coverage in mid of January due to employment. We were planning on signing up through a private plan but we’re absolutely unaware that the private plans started using the marketplace enrollment dates as this was not the case in 2014. Due to this confusion wever missed the deadline . Would this qualify us ? We also only had coverage for the last few months of 2014.

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Many people will be unduly penalized for not having health care coverage. I am one of them. I went to the doctor last week only to be told that my insurance had been cancelled. I called care first and was told that a cancellation letter was sent to me and a refund check for $815. When asked why, I was told that my January payment was short $37.25. That amount was added to my February bill, but still my account was cancelled. According to the representative that I spoke with, my refund check was mailed on March 12. Today is the 31th and I still haven’t received the check. I called the state health connection office and was told that they have been having that problem with care first cancelling peoples insurance. The representative told me that she got a call form a woman saying that Care first cancelled her insurance for 8cents. I ran into a lady in my city who told me that care first cancelled her insurance because they think she works too much. I have been purchasing private health insurance for over 15 years. Now with the new Obama plan, I am out of insurance, I cannot purchase one until open enrollment and I will be penalized for not having a plan. How is that helping me? How can this be right? I did everything right. I applied before the deadline. I was approved. I got a new card. I made my payments. The only thing I did wrong was, by mistake, paid the January premium $37.25 short. My monthly premium is $257.75. The fact that they are refunding $815 is an indication that I paid my premium. I’m still in shock. how can Care first get away with doing this to people? Who is protecting the little man? I never had this problem when I was paying $400 per month. I could purchase coverage at anytime then. This system needs to be fixed.

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I had the exact same thing occur, I called my health insurance company in PA, the person I spoke with was very nice and said that it should not have been cancelled but he couldn’t do a thing and told me to call the Marketplace directly. I called the Marketplace directly and a very nice man told me that should not have happened and that he would connect me with his supervisor who would fix this. He connected me with his supervisor, who was not a very nice woman, who said that they would review this and could take up to 30 days to do so. I asked her if she thought going without health insurance was something she thought she might like to do…She told me to contact Pennsylvania’s Health Insurance complaint number. So I called them, got a recording that the caller volume was too high and to leave a message and then the Complaint Line hung up on me. Three times. So I emailed my local CBS TV Consumer Reporter who contacted Blue Cross (my insurer) and suddenly, I had insurance again!

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Hi , I payed the penalty for 2014 on my taxes. and I think i qualify for the extra enrollment period for 2015. What number do I call to get help setting up Obama care ? Thanks Danny :}

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My nephew is a college student, does not have health insurance, and was not aware of the original deadline. I told him about the special enrollment period and looked up the requirements. But he tells me he did *not* pay a fee with his tax return — he has no income and was exempted from filing a tax return. Can he still qualify for the special enrollment period? The website will not allow it if you answer “no” to “Do you owe a fee because you or someone in your household didn’t have health coverage in 2014?”.

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I had tried to get insurance through Obamacare during open enrollment but hit a stumbling block with income verification. I have not filed taxes for 2013 or 2014 yet. During those 2 years my company lost money and have since closed the business. I am currently working with a set income and have been since October 2014. We are currently covered through Coventry but can no longer afford it and am going to lose it April 1st. I tried to change carriers last month and was told no one could quote me because I was already covered. My family policy increased $300.00 month Jan. 1st. We are currently paying $950.00 per month

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I got laid off from work and my medical insurance expired and I understand that I can enroll for Obamacare from March 15th to April 30th 2015
hoping to see if I qualify for it
I have no medical insurance at this time just seeking to find a primary doctor

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I’ve lived outside the country for the past 4 years. I plan on entering the states in April. How can I enroll? I also don’t want to be penalized, considering I have not lived in the U.S. I haven’t found any information that speaks on this subject. Is there a phone number I can call to speak to someone about this? Thank you.

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I enrolled on time & have paid premiums for 1/15 & 2/15. Due to some financial hardships, I was not able to pay premium for 3/15. Now I owe for 2 months. I have limited income & don’t see me being able to catch up. I had selected a gold plan in my area. Is it possible to now change to the minimum essential plan available in my market?

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Jeffrey singleton

I just recently got medicaid this March and I really need some extra insurance. Any help that could be provided will be appreciated. I do receive SSI

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Obamacare has been a nightmare for me. I am unemployed living off my little savings and I don’t qualify for a subsidy or medicaid. I can’t afford $330.00 a month for a HMO with lousy benefits. That is all I was offered in my region, so I couldn’t get insured. I have had insurance since 18 years old and that ended once obamacare began. I can’t afford it now and the HMO is not the plan that fits my needs. And, the price is unreasonable. Now, I am uninsured and living in fear of getting sick or injured. Very unfair. This law needs some changes to fit the needs and budget of unemployed people. And, why the narrow enrollment period? It should be available at all times. Things happen in life that prevent people from signing up on short notice. I miss the simple days.

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My wife and I have had private health insurance for years. I attempted to create an account at HealthCare.gov when ObamaCare first started. I spent HOURS trying, but due to the bad web site was unable to. Since our income is too high for a subsidy we have continued with our non-ObamaCare private insurance plans. Recently my wife’s premium was raised to an exorbitant level. I tried shopping around for an alternative plan, but apparently the only private health care available now is thru ObamaCare and is only available for a few month a year. I am paying 100% out of my own pocket and am receiving NO subsidy but I am not allowed to change companies when I want to? Apparently everyone w/o employer provided health insurance now has to get their health insurance thru ObamaCare? When will the government do the same thing to auto and home insurance? How about telling us there is only a 3 month window per year when we can upgrade our cars? This is ABSURD !!!

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I am 63 and on disability. My wife is 59. My wife and i have been separated for the last 5 years. We have recently reunited. My wife being unemployed could not receive a subsidy for health care. Can she reapply as a married couple without penalties?

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I paid the penalty for not having insurance on my 2014 return. I made an attempt to get coverage during the enrollment period this year. I only make $70 – $200 per week. That would make me eligible for a subsidy. I went on and picked a plan. At no point did it tell me I was not eligible. I am very confused. I ended up getting billed over $400 a month. I didn’t pay it, how could I? It’s more than I make. When I was finally able to get in touch with someone I was advised that because I did not do it last year that I could not get a subsidy this year. I never saw that written anywhere. Where does that leave me? How am I supposed to get insurance on what I make? How do I comply with this mandate? Will I have to give up everything I make in order to be in compliance because I didn’t jump on this the first time? I meet all three of your conditions for this special enrollment but I can’t afford coverage without a subsidy. What should I do?

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My husband lost a job at the end of last year. He was fully coverd by the healthinsurance from the employee in 2014. He found a new job and started on 1/5/2015 and supposed to be kikcked in to new healthinsurance by the new job on 4/1/15. However, he got layoff angain on 2/17/15 and found another job this month ( March). Unfortunatelly his newest employee is a small company and not provide the health coverage. We are looking for some alternative, possibilities. Is this EXTRA ENROLLMENT 3/15-4/40 would be one? Does he have a eligibility?

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Regarding the upcoming March 15th thru April 30th Special Enrollment, do ALL THREE of these conditions have to be met in order to qualify? What if my plan at work watered down benefits last month, and just want to cancel it and enroll in ObamaCare. Will the Special Enrollment allow this?

“•You aren’t currently enrolled in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace for 2015,
•You paid the fee with your 2014 federal income tax return, for not having health coverage in 2014, and
•You were confused or didn’t know about open enrollment dates for 2015 coverage, and need another opportunity to enroll in coverage for the remainder of 2015.”

-AL in Chicago

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I think this obamacare is a big mistake. It does have some good points and bad points to it. First thing is I agree everyone should have health insurance. They should focus on hospital and drug companies for cost savings. Also if they want to base this plan on peoples income they should send it all the way up the line not stop at 100,000.00 per year. Example if you make 1,000,000.00 a year you should have to pay 100,000.00 a year for health insurance. This way everyone feels the exact same pain. Not just attack the middle class. Also I’m an insurance agent that sells these plans and make money off of them and I’m disgusted how it has been going. They tell you how many people enrolled in the plan but never tell you how many kept it and paid the premium. For example I helped over a hundred people enroll only 60 people kept plan so that was a forty percent loss. I had people not pay a 8 dollar per month premium. So the inflated numbers you read are all not accurate and if you believe them you are not to bright.

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Am very confused

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I am still confused about this fee I keep reading about. This is the first time I’m ever looking into Obamacare and I am overwhelmed. Can someone please explain what his fee is if this is the first time I’m ever considering signing up? No wonder my father gave up looking into this,last year. What a disaster.

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My husband and I had the mdwise healthcare plan all of 2014. In May of 2014 they asked for documentation of our US citizenship which I mailed his and mine in the same envelope immediately. We were covered and had few incident the rest of the year. In 2015 we were automatically enrolled and were sent our plan booklet and new premium which was sent for January and February on time. On March 2 2015 I received two letters from Health Insurance Marketplace. !st letter stated all info had been verified, 2nd letter stated my info had been verified but husbands had not so they had terminated his coverage ! I have called multiple times, had representatives be rude and hung up on 3 times. Finally I demanded to talk to a supervisor who said she would put in for a review of the matter but nothing really could be done since his info could not be verified. From the letter sent in May 2014 you only have 30 days to reply with your documents or be terminated. I just hear about this months later that they claim not to have his info ! I sent his documents and my documents all in the same envelope so how could they not get his. I don’t understand. I resent his again on March 6 2015 hoping they will see their mistake. They will not give me a name of anyone higher up to that I can appeal this with. The real glitch is when I asked to speak to someone who does the verifying I was told that that building “The Health Insurance Marketplace ” HAS NO PHONES ! They only communicate with MDWISE Marketplace via computer only !!!! REALLY. I have the names of everyone I have spoke to except the ones who hung up on. I really need to speak to someone higher up that can settle this matter. How can I prove I sent his and how can they prove I didn’t. This is so frustrating. Its not as if we get subsidy either. We pay a large sum every month for coverage. Very dissatisfied.

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So at the point you should go to Healthcare.gov and print out an appeal…Anything that you receive and any thing the CSR say to you if you believe it to be wrong you will be able to appeal and if you appeal the appeal REP will give you a number where you can be contacted in a few days and will be able to answer your questions you have

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Hello, We signed up with an insurance company in New Mexico through the exchange. It was the same company we had in 2014, but we switched plans. We have been paying our premiums from Jan. 1-March 1, but they won’t acknowledge that we’ve paid anything. We have proof through our credit card company that our premiums have been paid. We have spent countless hours trying to rectify this with them over the phone, and it is never taken care of. We are not confident that this company to take care of our insurance needs. Can we switch to another company since there is an extension or are we stuck with this incompetent company for the rest of the year? It is New Mexico Health Connections, by the way.

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Harmonie Bradford

Extra open enrollment

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My short term coverage ends 03/31 and i called to see about getting a full policy or renewing my short term and was told it won’t count towards having coverage and that i missed the open enrollment and that i can’t get a policy but will now be penalized monthly for not having it.

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Someone please explain to me exactly how Obamacare is better than the way insurance used to be? I have been purchasing insurance out of pocket for years now, and the only way that Obamacare has affected my coverage has been very negative: 1. my rates have skyrocketed more than 25% since its introduction 2. insurance plans have drastically cut their networks to regain previous pre-Obamacare profit levels, which results in NONE of my doctors being in my network anymore 3. I can no longer shop around for alternate plans throughout the year, like I used to before Obamacare came around. It’s extremely frustrating, and enough to make me vote Republican in the next election, which is saying a LOT for me!

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I had a company call me and threaten that I will pay a fine of over $3000 on my $13,000 income because I had not signed up for insurance yet through the marketplace, and had missed the deadline. If you’re going to enact a law, and have private agencies call about things like levies and fines, at least have them tell the truth and not fear monger. This country used to be great, and has the ability to be once again, and the affordable care act is a shining example of how it can distance itself from the stigma on it. But this…I can’t believe the level that these agencies are stooping to and clearly are guided by those higher up the chain. Sickening to say the least.

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I created an account on Healthcare.gov Feb. 15th and submitted it said I would receive an “confirm” email. No email arrived so I tried to call; I could not get through it sounded like I was being put on hold then would click off. You can not resubmit the entered data so after a few hours of trying to call, to no avail, I opened a new hotmail account. By the time I submitted the info, AGAIN, I received an email stating open enrollment was over. This is ridiculous in today’s technology, especially through a government MANDATORY program. I am very disgruntled that I am unable to get insurance due to the governments inability to procure working website and phone lines.

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Create another email address for yourself and create another account.
its easy to create a gmail account, don’t forget your user name and password ..

Your marketplace user name will be the new email address
You create your own password for marketplace. like “Healthcare1” would work

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I’ve just become aware of the fact that short term insurance does not exempt an individual from the penalty fee incurred on tax filing after assisting my 24year old with her search for a healthcare plan this weekend. The only excuse I can find for our unawareness other than not reading the fine print is why would one even think a penalty involved for taking responsibility for your healthcare.
It seems incredulous that an individual for numerous obvious personal life reasons pays for short term insurance which relegates one to covering all personal out of pocket costs for healthcare thereby acting responsibly for their healthcare debts. My husband and I are both self employed and have had a plan for many years with our health insurance co. Adding her to our plan later for 2014 was a non option given the extreme increase in policy fees for reason of a very weak pre existing rationale.
She went from a college plan / Anthem to a short term student plan in 2012 as she was deemed non- qualified by our insurance due to pre existing. She could not afford plans thru private insurers & hence the short term for catastrophic coverage. As an individual she pays 79.00 dollars a month insurance , biannual dr visit / sick visit fees, Annual Gyn 325.00 , eye exam , dental costs & full prescription costs – the equivalent of 4000.00 dollars last year. In a entry level position with no benefits a quality private insurance plan makes for much difficulty financially. I think the penalty is very unjust.
I see day in & out at my job people with no insurance using the ER & hospital resources with no ability to pay or insurance. There will never be a mechanism to recoup these millions of dollars of losses for care provided. This current system reinforces a poor model for healthcare & penalizes provides those who are trying to pay their way.

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Yes, I agree with you. I missed the deadline, because mistakes will happen. and I had the judge and jury on the line telling my excuses were not exceptable that was after i had been passed back and forth from anthem to covered California because neither said it was not their responsibility to assist me. after two hours anthem arranged a conference call with coverd California, and they both decieded that I should be penalized. I told them the fact of the matter is we cant afford it. on paper it looks like we do but they don’t consider debt to ratio. In cases like ours something or someone is not going to get paid. My real complaint with this whole set up is even if we could afford the premium, our deductible is so high that we would be able to pay for the diagnoisis but wouldnt be able to pay for the cure. Now what is wrong with that picture?

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