Laid off and living in CA? Here's how to get health insurance
If you've been laid off, you probably have less than a month until your employer-sponsored health plan expires.
You'll get the option to continue your employer-sponsored coverage via COBRA, but it's often expensive. For me, it was over $500 per month.
And you probably want to avoid going without health insurance for the obvious reason that it's risky, and also because you have to pay a penalty in CA if you don't have health insurance coverage for the entire year.
So you're left with two options:
I think a lot of people choose option 1 without realizing that option 2 is even possible.
There are various reasons why you might not want to rush into another job right away:
Here's how to get health insurance on your own
First of all, make sure you do your own research. What I've written here should supplement rather than replace your own research.
You can start with this Health Insurance Guide on the California Department of Insurance website.
For my situation, this was the most important part of that guide:
Continuation Coverage or an Individual Policy?
If you lose your job or your hours are cut, you may have the choice to enroll in continuation coverage or buy an individual/family policy. Compare the price, benefits, and physician networks carefully when you make this choice. For example, an individual plan is often less expensive than continuation coverage, but the benefits may be different and you may not be able to see the same doctors.
Buying Individual Health Insurance on Your Own
People usually buy individual health insurance because they do not have group insurance through a job and they do not qualify for any public program.
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You can buy an individual policy from an insurance company, a licensed health insurance agent, or from Covered California- California's Healthcare Marketplace. You can reach Covered California at www.coveredca.com or call them at (800) 300-1506.
There are many kinds of individual policies, with different costs and benefits. You should study your choices carefully so that you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
Covered California
Here's the website for Covered California: www.coveredca.com
On the home page, there's a quick quote calculator.
If you're curious about how much plans through Covered California cost, here are some examples:
One of the benefits of getting your coverage through Covered California is that you might qualify for financial help in two forms: the Premium Tax Credit and cost-sharing reductions.
Another benefit is that you have the flexibility to choose your health plan from many options. For example, after being laid off, you might want to choose a cheaper plan.
If you decide that you want to get health insurance through Covered California, you can submit an application on their website (took me about 30 minutes) and then you'll be taken to a screen that shows your health plan options.
Once you choose a plan, you can make your first payment and then your health plan should be active by the first of the following month.
Why am I sharing this?
For me, the research beforehand was the longest and most stressful part of getting health insurance after I was laid off. Once I was on the Covered California website, I was done in less than an hour.
If you're an employer laying off your employees in CA or you know someone in CA who has been laid off, please share this with them to save them time and stress.
Disclaimer
This post is for informational purposes only. No material in this post is intended to be a substitute for professional advice. Always seek the advice of your financial advisor, insurance agent, lawyer, and/or healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding health insurance and healthcare, and never disregard professional advice because of something you have read in this post.