How Does the “Three Month” Coverage Gap Work?
My husband lost his job on Nov. 14, 2014. We’ve been uninsured and unemployed since. Under obamacare, you can be uninsured for three consecutive months without paying a penalty. Our only current income is unemployment wages and money he received from his severance. We obviously need to pay our immediate bills and cannot afford to pay for the mandated insurance.
Q1: Since the 3 consecutive months are between the end & beginning of 2014 & 2015, is that still considered consecutive or does ‘consecutive’ start over for January 2015?
Q2: If my husband becomes employed but insurance provided by his employer doesn’t start until 90 days later, will we be penalized for not having insurance for all the previous months due to our circumstances?
Answer
The three month coverage gap covers less than three months in a row per year. So a person can go up to two full months in a row, but then must have coverage for at least one day of the third month.
If you want to extend this exemption over two years you can have less than three months at the end of one year, and then less than three months at the start of the next.
As long as as the gap is consecutive, and less than three months in a year, you are exempt.
Learn more about short coverage gap exemptions.