There's Still Time to Enroll in Health Insurance at Healthcare.gov

Open enrollment is still ongoing at the Health Insurance Marketplace! Open enrollment continues through March 31, and if you still need to sign up, there are still plenty of opportunities to get some help at various St. Louis Public Library locations. See our Upcoming Events page for details.

If you’re still a bit confused about whether you even need to enroll, check out this one-page guide to the Marketplace from Healthcare.gov. A couple of key facts to keep in mind:

• If you enroll by the 15^th of a month, your insurance will go into effect on the first of the following month. For example, to have your insurance start on March 1, you need to be enrolled by February 15. If you wait until the very last second and enroll on March 31, your insurance won’t go into effect until May 1 (since you missed the March 15 deadline for April).
• You have to have health insurance in 2014 or you will have to pay a fee. The fee is $95 per adult and $47.50 per child, or 1% of your income, whichever is higher.
• If you have insurance through your job, you don’t have to apply for health insurance through the Marketplace, but you can certainly shop around to see if you can get a better plan that way. 
•  You can get help on the phone. The Health Insurance Marketplace hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-318-2596.

So what if you’ve already enrolled and have health insurance through the Marketplace? First of all, congratulations! Second of all, check out this handy guide to using your Marketplace coverage.

Don’t forget to check out our events page for information on enrollment opportunities with Certified Application Counselors! The calendar is constantly being updated, so make sure you check back often.