Do You Need Help Signing Up For Health Insurance Through The Marketplace (“Obamacare”)?
Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace begins on November 1, 2016 and continues through January 31, 2017. If you are age 19-64 and need help applying for health insurance, please call Monona County Public Health, at , to make an appointment with Jessica Stangel, RN, BSN. Jessica is a Certified Application Counselor and will be able to help you apply.
Burgess Health Center also has Certified Application Counselors on staff to assist you. You may also call them at and ask for Peggy Low, Sarah Goslar or Gerri Lyons to make an appointment.
Who Is The Marketplace For:
The Iowa Health Insurance Marketplace is where eligible residents can shop for and buy insurance in person, online, or by phone. The Marketplace is mainly for people who:
- Don’t have insurance
- Aren’t insured by their employer
- Don’t have Medicare
- Aren’t included in their spouse’s employer insurance
- Have pre-existing conditions and may have had trouble getting insurance before
- Have private insurance but want to look at other options
- Own a small business
Critical Deadlines Are:
- November 1, 2016: Open enrollment begins. Apply for or change your coverage.
- December 15, 2016: Deadline in order to have coverage that begins on January 1, 2017.
- January 1, 2017: Your 2017 coverage will begin if you enrolled or changed your plan by December 15, 2016.
- January 31, 2017: This is the last day you can apply for 2017 coverage before the end of open enrollment.
If you miss this open enrollment window, you cannot enroll until the Marketplace re-opens again in November 2017 unless you have a special “life event” such as losing health coverage, moving, getting married, having a baby or adopting a child.
Individuals and children living in poverty can enroll at any time in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). There is no enrollment period for these programs, but there are income restrictions and other qualifiers.
The 10 Essential Coverage Benefits Of Enrolling In The Marketplace:
- Outpatient care, or ambulatory services
- Prescription drugs
- Emergency care
- Hospitalization
- Mental and behavioral health care
- Rehabilitative care
- Laboratory tests
- Preventive and wellness services
- Birth control and breastfeeding services
- Pediatric care
- Newborn and maternity care