Qualifying Life Events & Making Changes to Health Insurance

Making Changes To Your Health Insurance

If you are a Native American and you are enrolled in MedicaidA joint federal and state program that helps with medical costs for some people with limited income and resources., MedicareThe federal health insurance program for people who are age 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant)., or a Health Insurance MarketplaceA marketplace to compare and enroll in health insurance plans established by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). (Obamacare) health plan, you can make changes to your health insuranceA type of insurance that pays for some or all of your medical expenses.
at any time. The easiest way to change your plan is to get help from the Benefits Coordinator at your local Indian Health Service (IHS) or Tribal clinic, or from a Patient Navigator or insurance broker, call BeWellNM at 1-833-862-3935 or TTY 1-855-851-2018.

BeWellNM has counselors specifically for Native Americans, click on the link for more information. You can also call 1-855-241-8137 or visit their office at 6403 Menaul Blvd. NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

If you applied for your health plan online, log in to your account and follow the instructions to change your plan or to cancel your existing plan and apply for a new one.

Be aware: if you change your health insurance plan or enroll in a new one after the 15th of the month, you may experience a gap in coverage until your new plan starts.

Qualifying Life Events

If you are enrolled in a private health insuranceA type of insurance that pays for some or all of your medical expenses.
plan through your employer, you will usually have to wait to make changes until the period, which usually occurs in October, November or December.

This is unless you have had a qualifying life event:

Loss of previous health insurance, for example, leaving a previous job or losing eligibility for MedicaidA joint federal and state program that helps with medical costs for some people with limited income and resources.
Changes in your household, such as a divorce or a death in the family
You move or change your residence
Changes in your income
Changes to your citizenship or Tribal membership.

Ask your employer’s human resources representative for information or for a full list of possible qualifying life events, see HealthCare.gov. The list is for non-Indians enrolled in the Health Insurance MarketplaceA marketplace to compare and enroll in health insurance plans established by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)., but it should apply to most employer-sponsored health plans as well.