Open Enrollment For
Health Insurance To
Continue Until Dec. 15th
NEW JERSEY – The Clifton Health Department is reminding all residents that open enrollment for health insurance for 2018 will continue until December 15, 2017.
Anyone who does not have health insurance through a job or through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan, or anyone who needs to renew, change, or update a current plan should apply for health insurance through the Marketplace. In order to be eligible, you must either live in the United States or be a lawfully present citizen, and you cannot be incarcerated.
There are a variety of options for enrolling for health insurance. If you wish to enroll online, you should create an account on Healthcare.gov if it is your first time applying for health insurance. If you applied for health insurance through the Marketplace for 2017, log into your account to update information and compare available plans you may be eligible for based on your expected income for 2018. You may also choose to apply for health insurance by phone by calling the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596 where a customer service representative can help you fill out an application, review your options, and enroll in coverage. Someone will be available to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the exception of holidays. You also have the option to apply for health insurance in-person, either through a local assister, agent, or broker, who are all trained to help with the application process and enrollment. For a list of local assisters and agents in your area, call the Marketplace Call Center or enter your zip code on Marketplace.gov. You may also enroll by submitting the application through mail to the following address:
Health Insurance Marketplace
Dept. of Health and Human Services
465 Industrial Blvd.
London, KY 40750-0001
Before filling out an application, it may be helpful to have the following information on hand: your social security number, document numbers for eligible immigrants who are interested in applying for health insurance, birth dates, paystubs, W-2 forms, and other information on your family’s income, policy/member numbers for any current health coverage, and information about any health coverage from a job available to you or your family.
The application will ask for information on yourself, family members who live with you as well as current job and income information. Marketplace health insurance can help cover costs for doctors’ visits, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, prescription drug coverage, pregnancy and childbirth, mental health service, dental, and much more.
Health insurance is still required by law, meaning that individuals who do not have health insurance by 2018 will have to pay a fee. For 2017, the penalties for not being insured were $695 per adult and $347.50 per child under the age of 18, or 2.5% of annual household income over the federal filing threshold — whichever is greater. Exact penalties for 2018 have yet to be announced.
If you do not apply for health insurance by the deadline, you cannot get coverage for 2018 unless you are eligible for a Special Enrollment Period. You may qualify for a Special Enrollment period only if you or anyone in your household in the past 60 days got married, had a change of residence, had a baby, adopted a child, or placed a child in foster care, got divorced or legally separated and lost health insurance, or if someone on your Marketplace plan dies and as a result, you are no longer eligible for your current health plan. You may also qualify for a Special Enrollment Period if you or anyone in your household lost qualifying health coverage in the past 60 days OR expects to lose coverage in the next 60 days.
Do not miss out on your chance to enroll for healthcare coverage. For any questions you might have, or for help with enrollment, please call the Marketplace Call Center.
The Clifton Health Department is a contractual health agency serving the Township of Little Falls.