Open Enrollment is ending soon, so we want to make sure you feel confident and informed as you seek the health insurance plan that works best for you.
What is Open Enrollment?
Open Enrollment is the window of time where you and your family can sign up for a health insurance plan for 2021 coverage. If you need health coverage, you must sign up during this time window because you cannot sign up for new health insurance at any other time of year unless you experience a qualifying life event.
Open Enrollment ends on January 31, 2021, in California, New Jersey, and New York.
How do you sign up for health insurance during Open Enrollment?
We at Cosmo Insurance have health insurance brokers who are experts in health insurance. We can guide you through the enrollment process on the exchange or through an insurer directly.
Lastly, you might be able to get insurance through your employer. If so, your employer can provide the necessary information, usually through a human resources department. Suppose you’ve had employer-based insurance and recently lost your job. In that case, you might qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, which means you can sign up for new insurance even if it’s outside of the Open Enrollment window.
Ready to select a plan? Here’s what you need to know.
Be sure to compare health insurance plans to find one that’s the best value and right for your needs. Here are some basic terms to know:
- Premium: This is the amount you’ll pay monthly to keep your plan active.
- Covered services: These are the health care services that your insurance plan will help you pay for. This can change based on the plan, but usually, plans with a higher monthly premium will cover more of your care cost.
- Copayments: Often called copays, this is the cost that you’re responsible for paying for a covered appointment, service, or prescription.
- Coinsurance: This is similar to a copayment, but instead of being a fixed cost ($10), it’s a fixed percentage of the total cost of the appointment, service, or prescription.
- Deductible: If your insurance plan has a deductible, this is the total cost that you’ll need to pay out-of-pocket before your insurer begins paying for services.
- All about networks
Do you have a doctor you see regularly and want to keep visiting? If so, you’ll want to make sure they’re in an insurer’s network.
Every health insurance company maintains a network of hospitals and doctors that it works with, and your coverage will differ if your doctor is in-network rather than out-of-network.
You might want to stick to in-network healthcare for two reasons: it will almost certainly save you money, no matter what insurance plan you have, because in-network providers negotiate lower rates with your insurance provider. Also, the money spent on out-of-network bills does not count toward your deductible or your out-of-pocket max (except for emergency services).
Before committing to a new insurance provider, you should call your existing doctors and ask which networks they’re part of. If you’re an Oscar member, we have a helpful search tool to find in-network doctors, hospitals, and urgent care centers—or you can call or message your Care Team anytime to help you find the in-network doctor that’s right for you.
If you have an existing health issue or chronic illness or tend to see specialists regularly, it might make sense to pay a higher monthly premium but have fewer out-of-pocket expenses—because doctor visits and diagnostic tests are more likely to be covered by your insurer.
If you’re under the age of 30, catastrophic plans might be available if you qualify for a hardship or affordability exemption. These plans have low premiums, but you can’t use a tax credit for these plans. If you qualify for a tax credit, a Bronze or Silver plan might be the better value.
We at Cosmo Insurance will help you through the whole process and make your life just a little bit less complicated. Call us today at 732-363-3888 to start saving.
Cosmo Insurance Agency is a full-service independent insurance agency based in Hackensack (Bergen County) and Lakewood (Ocean County), New Jersey that offers an all-encompassing range of insurance options for both individuals and businesses. Cosmo keeps its promise to assure an efficient and creative approach to the services we offer. Each of our clients experience a personalized and long-term relationship with us. Our New Jersey based team of health brokers guides our clients in helping them choose the most cost-effective options. By incorporating our knowledge of the insurance guidelines for healthcare, employee benefits, life insurance, self-insurance, dental, disability, and long term care insurance, we keep our clients up-to-date with affordable plans that cover all their specific insurance needs.
