Q. Let’s say I buy insurance from the health insurance exchange in the state I’m living in, but in a year I move to another state. What happens? Do I have to start over with a new exchange, assuming there is one? What about gaps in coverage?
A. In general, people can only switch from one health plan to another on a health insurance exchange, or marketplace, during the annual enrollment period each fall. But if you move away to another state, you would qualify for a “special enrollment period” that lasts for 60 days, during which time you could sign up for a new plan on another health insurance exchange. Every state will have its own exchange starting Oct. 1.
You’ll need to notify your current exchange about your relocation plans and receive a coverage eligibility determination from your new state exchange. But you should be able to move seamlessly without a gap in coverage from one exchange to another, .
If for some reason you don’t manage to line up new exchange coverage before you move, you won’t face penalties right away. Although most people are starting in January or face a penalty of up to $95 or 1 percent of their income, you can be uninsured for in a year before those penalties would be applied.
is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy research and communication organization not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
