Q: I heard that the deadline to pay for a policy purchased on the exchange was December 15. With the holidays, I missed my first payment, so what can I do now?
A: December 15 was the last day an individual could purchase insurance to start on January 1, 2015. There's still time to get covered, though, so don't worry.
The individual exchange remains open until February 15, 2015. If you purchase a policy by the fifteenth of January or February, coverage will start on the first of the next month. If you purchase your insurance between the sixteenth and the end of the month, your insurance will begin on the first of the following month. So, if you paid for insurance on December 22, your insurance will be effective February 1.
For your insurance to be effective, it will have to be paid in full before the effective date. Several insurance companies are making an exception for the January 1 effective date. If you had purchased insurance on the individual marketplace and paid on December 22, you might have been covered on January 1 if you chose a plan with one of the companies making exceptions.
Failure to apply for insurance by February 15, 2015, will find you without the required insurance until the next open enrollment. The marketplace will then be limited to special enrollment periods.
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