Health insurance protects you from unexpected, high medical costs and give you better access to medical services. New York State of Health (NYSoH) is a new Health Plan Marketplace for New York state residents. Individuals, families, and small businesses can use to buy health insurance. It lets you shop and compare many health plans. It is the only place to get help lowering the cost of health coverage.
Some important things to consider when choosing a plan are your eligibility, the services and benefits offered by the plan, and the cost of the plan. You may not be eligible for an individual or family plan if you qualify for Medicaid or can get affordable coverage from your job.
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The open enrollment period for 2022 coverage in New York runs from November 1, 2021 through January 31, 2022. This three-month open enrollment period has been used for the last several years in New York.
The only time you can enroll outside of this period is if you have a special qualifying life event, There are four official types of qualifying life events defined by the government.
These include:
- Losing coverage from a job, Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP, or turning 26 and losing coverage from your parents' plan.
- Household changes like getting married, divorced, or having a baby.
- Changes in residence like if you move to another city or state.
- Other changes such as changes in your income, becoming a citizen, or leaving jail.
Enrollment in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (aka CHIP) are available year-round to eligible enrollees.
If you participate in a group health insurance plan through your job, your enrollment period may be different from that of the individual marketplace.
- You may enroll online through the NY State of Health website
- By phone at 1-855-355-5777 (TTY: 1-800-662-1220)
- With the free help of a trained and certified Enrollment Assistor or Broker
Have this information ready for each member of your family:
- Birth dates
- Social security numbers or, for legal immigrants, document numbers if you have them
- Employment, income, and health insurance information
- Yourself
- Your spouse, if you are married
- Any children, you are caring for who live with you
- Your partner, who lives with you
- Anyone you include on your federal tax return
- Your income and family size help them decide what programs you qualify for
You must review all the facts about each plan and choose the one that is best suited for your individual or family needs. Compare each plan based on pricing, including all associated costs such as monthly fees and co-payments. Also review which providers (doctors and hospitals) are in the plan’s network as well as all quality indicators of those providers. Each plan’s quality ranking is included on the New York State of Health website.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires almost every individual and each of his or her dependents to have health insurance coverage. If they do not have health insurance, they must claim an exemption or pay a tax penalty on his or her federal income taxes the following year.
