CMS announced a new special enrollment period for tax season and is only available for a short time.  When filing your taxes in states that use federal marketplaces (instead of state exchanges), those who did not have health coverage in 2014 and are subject to the penalty for not having coverage (also known as the “shared responsibility payment”), will be allowed to enroll in a 2015 health plan between March 15 – April 30.

If you have not purchased a 2015 health plan by the end of this special enrollment period, you may be subject to paying a fee when you file your 2015 income taxes.

Conditions to qualify for this new special enrollment period:

  1. Must live in a state with a federal marketplace – if your state uses state-run exchanges, you cannot qualify for this special enrollment period
  2. You attest that when you filed your 2014 tax return you paid a fee for not having health insurance in 2014
  3. You attest that you first became aware of/ first understood the implications of the penalties for not having health insurance after the end of open enrollment (which ended on February 15, 2015) when preparing your 2014 taxes.

Coverage Effective Dates:

  1. If you apply before the 15th of the month, your effective date for your health insurance plan is the first day of the following month.
  2. If you apply after the 15th of the month, you effective date for your health insurance plan is the first day of the second following month.  For example, if you apply for a health plan on March 25th, your effective date would be May 1st.

Click here to see which states use a federal marketplace exchange and which states use a state-run exchange.

If you have any questions about your health insurance or are unsure if you would qualify for this new special enrollment period, call us at 1-888-972-0024 to speak with a live agent or CLICK HERE to e-mail us with your questions.