Outside of open enrollment, a special enrollment period allows you to enroll in an ACA-compliant plan (on or off-exchange) if you experience a qualifying life event.
Mary Lou Retton’s health scare story included some important lessons for consumers, many of whom may assume that the celebrity’s health scare is a sign of barriers to affordable health coverage.
The effective date is the date your insurance coverage commences. In most cases, this will always be the first of a future month, although a newborn baby or newly adopted child can have coverage retroactive to the date of birth or adoption.
In most cases, employer-sponsored coverage will be effective the first of the month following your enrollment, or the first of the coming plan year if you enroll or make a plan change during your employer’s open enrollment period.
If you enroll through your marketplace your coverage effective date mostly depends on whether you're enrolling during open enrollment or a special enrollment period.