A special open enrollment period on all Affordable Care Act marketplaces, including on the federal insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov, runs until Aug. 15. Many people qualify for free or low-cost plans. If you are uninsured or you've been on unemployment benefits this year, new financial help — passed by Congress this year — means you might be eligible for free health insurance.
A special enrollment period ends on Aug. 15, so consumers will need to act fast to sign up for one of these plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
In addition to Medicaid, which is the state-federal public plan for low-income people, there are additional options on HealthCare.gov and the state marketplaces, free "bronze plans" — the lowest tier of plans — that might be available with zero-dollar premiums depending on your income. Both of those have been options for years.
Now, there's also a new free plan option open to a new category of people. The American Rescue Plan included a lot of changes to help make it easier and more affordable to enroll, including new and more generous subsidies for premiums, cost-sharing support for low-income people and more.
One major change: If you've received unemployment benefits at any point this year, you might qualify for a comprehensive silver plan through the end of 2021.
