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  • Home Knowledge Center Health Insurance Open Enrollment and Special Enrollment

    Open Enrollment and Special Enrollment Periods

    Learn more about enrolling in a plan or making changes to your current plan.

    Shop for plans

    There are certain times during the year when you can buy a health plan directly through Cigna HealthcareSM or on the Health Insurance Marketplace. These periods of time are called the Open Enrollment and the Special Enrollment periods.

    When to shop for health insurance on the Marketplace

    Open Enrollment

    The Open Enrollment Period is the time when individuals and families can buy a new health plan or make changes to their current health plan directly through Cigna Healthcare or on the Health Insurance Marketplace. Plans that are effective on January 1 have an Open Enrollment Period from November 1-December 15 of the year before, in most states.

    For example, if you wanted to enroll or make changes to a plan with an effective date of January 1, 2022, your Open Enrollment Period would run from November 1-December 15, 2021.

    Some states may have a longer Open Enrollment Period.

    Special Enrollment

    If you recently lost your health insurance coverage for any reason (including COVID-19) in the past 60 days or you expect to lose coverage in the next 60 days or had a major life event, you may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.

    Qualifying major life events include:

    • You lose your health insurance plan at work
    • You get married or divorced
    • You have or adopt a child
    • You're no longer a dependent on someone else's policy
    • You gained or became a dependent through marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption
    • You lose Medicaid or CHIP coverage
    • Your insurance carrier made a mistake on your insurance contract or made an enrollment error
    • You have a Marketplace plan and your status for getting help to pay for your plan changes
    • You moved and need to pick another plan based on the insurance coverage area
    • Your immigration status changes
    • And other qualifying life events

    If you voluntarily dropped your coverage, you cannot qualify for a Special Enrollment Period unless you also had a decrease in household income or a change in your previous coverage that made you eligible.

    During the Special Enrollment Period, you may qualify for both a premium tax credit and a cost-sharing reduction to help lower your health insurance premium and total out-of-pocket costs.

    In certain instances, the Open Enrollment Period may be extended, or the eligibility requirements for the Special Enrollment Period may change.

    Check the current status

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  • Enrollment
  • Plans are insured by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company or its affiliates: For Arizona residents, health plans are offered by Cigna HealthCare of Arizona, Inc. For Georgia residents, health plans are offered by Cigna HealthCare of Georgia, Inc. For Illinois residents, health plans are offered by Cigna HealthCare of Illinois, Inc. For North Carolina residents, health plans are offered by Cigna HealthCare of North Carolina, Inc.  For South Carolina residents, health plans are offered by Cigna HealthCare of South Carolina, Inc. For Texas residents, health plans are offered by Cigna HealthCare of Texas, Inc.

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    Individual and family medical and dental insurance plans are insured by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company (CHLIC), Cigna HealthCare of Arizona, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of Illinois, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of Georgia, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of North Carolina, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of South Carolina, Inc., and Cigna HealthCare of Texas, Inc. Group health insurance and health benefit plans are insured or administered by CHLIC, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CGLIC), or their affiliates (see a listing of the legal entities that insure or administer group HMO, dental HMO, and other products or services in your state). Accidental Injury, Critical Illness, and Hospital Care plans or insurance policies are distributed exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of The Cigna Group Corporation, are administered by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, and are insured by either (i) Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company (Bloomfield, CT). The Cigna Healthcare name, logo, and other Cigna Healthcare marks are owned by The Cigna Group Intellectual Property, Inc.

    All insurance policies and group benefit plans contain exclusions and limitations. For availability, costs and complete details of coverage, contact a licensed agent or Cigna Healthcare sales representative. This website is not intended for residents of New Mexico.

    Selecting these links will take you away from Cigna.com to another website, which may be a non-Cigna Healthcare website. Cigna Healthcare may not control the content or links of non-Cigna Healthcare websites. Details

    La aseguradora publica el formulario traducido para fines informativos y la versión en inglés prevalece para fines de solicitud e interpretación.

    The insurer is issuing the translated form on an informational basis and the English version is controlling for the purposes of application and interpretation.