10 Things You Should Know About Health Insurance Open Enrollment for 2024

From TurboTax: We’ve partnered with Stride to make it simple to see if you’re eligible and get enrolled in affordable coverage for 2024 — all on one easy-to-use platform that searches HealthCare.gov and your state marketplace to find the best plans for you (so you don’t have to).

Open Enrollment is happening now and goes until Dec. 15 for coverage to start January 1. It is your one chance to get health insurance for 2024, and it only takes 10 minutes!

Open Enrollment is when most Americans are eligible to pick their insurance for the upcoming year.

Good news: 4 in 5 Americans can get health insurance for less than $10 a month. And more than 7 million Americans qualify for FREE plans!

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But what exactly is Open Enrollment and why should you care?

We’ve put together a short guide to provide answers to the most common questions we receive about Open Enrollment.

1. What is Open Enrollment?

The Open Enrollment Period, more commonly known as OEP, is the one time of year that you can buy or change your health insurance. If you don’t buy health insurance during OEP, you will not be able to purchase it until OEP the following year unless you experience a qualifying life event.

If you already have health insurance, this still applies to you! This is the one time of year you can change your plan.

2. When is Open Enrollment?

For most states, OEP starts November 1 and ends December 15 for plans that start January 1, giving you just six weeks to choose a health plan and get signed up.

But don’t worry. We make it quick and easy to compare plans, find financial assistance, and enroll. Plus, once you sign up, you will be eligible for coverage starting on the first day of the following month!

3. Why does Open Enrollment exist?

If Open Enrollment didn’t exist, when would you buy health insurance? Most likely when you got sick or injured, right?

Well, OEP restricts when you can buy health insurance in order to maintain a needed balance for health insurance companies. By constraining the time period in which you can purchase health insurance, the amount of money going into and coming out of insurance companies’ pockets remains relatively balanced. This allows insurance companies to maintain a balanced pool of sick and healthy people, keeping the marketplaces stable.

The amount individuals pay in premiums works to counteract the money insurance companies are paying out towards claims. If people could sign up for insurance at any point, this balance wouldn’t exist and would cause an unhealthy disruption within the health insurance industry.

4. Who does Open Enrollment apply to?

Americans ages 18 to 64 who aren’t already covered by Medicaid, an employer, their parents, or Veterans Affairs.

5. What can I expect for Open Enrollment 2024?

Health insurance can be very affordable for most!  On average, Stride users save $410 per month on health insurance, and 40 percent of our members pay less than $25 per month for health insurance. Stride will search through all of the health insurance plans on healthcare.gov or your local state marketplace, recommend the best plan for your needs, and see if you’re eligible for savings.

Stride does all this work without charging you an extra fee, so you always know you’re paying the lowest price possible.

Because the Inflation Reduction Act has extended the American Rescue Plan’s (ARP) subsidy enhancements through 2025 (originally due to expire at the end of 2022), subsidies will continue to be larger and more widely available than they were before the ARP. This means more savings for you.

Insurance companies are offering more plans. Many insurers (like Cigna and Aetna) are expanding their reach to new zip codes. This means you may have access to more plan options than you did last year! 

You will still get just as much value from your plan. Plans will continue to cover all the essential health benefits you’d look for in a health plan. Plans are required to continue covering things like emergency services, preventative care, prescription drugs, and more. If you have questions about your coverage, don’t be afraid to ask us by emailing support@stridehealth.com.

We also have a direct line to Stride’s award-winning team of experts just for TurboTax users. Call 844.706.1650 to get support and answer your enrollment questions.

6. Do I have to sign up for all types of insurance during Open Enrollment?

Nope. Open Enrollment only applies to health insurance.

However, many people choose to enroll in dental, vision, disability, life, and accident insurance during OEP in order to protect their entire physical and financial wellbeing all at once. Stride makes it easy to buy most of these at the same time so you can get back to doing what you want to be doing.

7. How am I going to afford health insurance?

Subsidies (a fancy word for financial assistance) are offered to help people afford health insurance. These are offered in the form of an advance premium tax credit when you enroll in Marketplace insurance if you are eligible to help lower the cost of your insurance.  Eligibility depends on your household income at the time you apply for Marketplace insurance.  If your actual income reported on your taxes is higher than when you applied for insurance you may have to pay back some of the advance premium tax credit at tax time.  If your income is lower you may be eligible for more premium tax credit at tax time.

Wondering if you qualify for these? Stride will help you figure it out based on eligibility criteria.

8. Where can I buy my health insurance?

While you can buy health insurance directly from the federal or state exchanges, Stride makes the whole process a lot easier. We’ll search through all of the Healthcare.gov plans to find the best one for your needs and check if you qualify for financial assistance—all in 10 minutes or less. Then, we’ll help you get enrolled and covered as fast as possible.

9. Which states have extended enrollment windows?

Some states choose to extend the window people have to buy health insurance. Check to see if you live in one of these states and take note of the enrollment window:

• Idaho: November 1 – December 15
• Kentucky and Maine: November 1 – January 16
• Massachusetts: November 1 – January 23
• New Jersey, California, New York, and Rhode Island: November 1 – January 31

10. What if I already have a plan from last year?

If you purchased health insurance during last year, you will be automatically re-enrolled for next year. Sounds pretty good, right? Beware—insurers often change their plans a bit from year to year. If you don’t review your coverage during Open Enrollment, you may see your monthly health payments increase, your doctor may stop accepting your plan, and your prescriptions may no longer be covered.  You should also make sure you update your income and household information since that information impacts how much subsidy you will receive.

Make a habit of reviewing your plan each year to make sure it still meets your needs. While you’re at it, see whether other plans have been added to your area. You could find an even better deal than your current plan offers, but you won’t know unless you look.