Health insurance deadlines extended in 45 states

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Colin LalleyContent Director, Home & Auto InsuranceColin Lalley is the content director for home and auto insurance at Policygenius, where he's been writing about insurance since 2015. His insights have been featured in Inc. Magazine, Betterment, Chime, Credit Seasame, Zola, and the Council for Disability Awareness.

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Christmas has come early for many health insurance shoppers this year.If you’ve read anything on PolicyGenius regarding health insurance (which, of course you have) you know we’ve really been pounding the December 15th deadline. Basically, if you wanted your health insurance to kick in on January 1st and avoid a lapse in coverage, you had to have applied by December 15th.

Well, it’s December 16th...and it’s been announced that many shoppers have gotten an extension and can continue to shop for coverage that starts January 1st. Are you one of them? Find out below.Deadline: December 15thDeadline: December 17thDeadline: December 19thDeadline: December 23rd

Deadline: December 15th

Unfortunately, residents of these states – which run their own health insurance exchanges – still had to stick with the December 15th deadline:

  • Colorado

  • Idaho

  • Maryland

  • Minnesota

  • Vermont

  • Washington, D.C.

Deadline: December 17th

Got weekend plans? Now you do. These states have extended their deadlines until Saturday, December 17th:

  • California

  • Connecticut

  • New York

Deadline: December 19th

Every state that’s part of Healthcare.gov has had their deadline extended through the weekend, and residents have until Monday the 19th to get covered. Those include:

  • Alabama

  • Alaska

  • Arizona

  • Arkansas

  • Delaware

  • Florida

  • Georgia

  • Hawaii

  • Illinois

  • Indiana

  • Iowa

  • Kansas

  • Kentucky

  • Louisiana

  • Maine

  • Michigan

  • Mississippi

  • Missouri

  • Montana

  • Nebraska

  • Nevada

  • New Hampshire

  • New Jersey

  • New Mexico

  • North Carolina

  • North Dakota

  • Ohio

  • Oklahoma

  • Oregon

  • Pennsylvania

  • South Carolina

  • South Dakota

  • Tennessee

  • Texas

  • Utah

  • Virginia

  • West Virginia

  • Wisconsin

  • Wyoming

Deadline: December 23rd

Residents of these three lucky states have until the 23rd – over a week after the original deadline – to get coverage for January 1st:

  • Massachusetts

  • Rhode Island

  • Washington (state)

Even though you have until the above dates for coverage to start on January 1st and Open Enrollment doesn’t technically end until January 31st, that doesn’t mean you should put off shopping even longer. Because of incredibly high volumes of shoppers, hold times with enrollment centers will be long - so plan ahead and be patient. If you get it done ASAP, you can beat other last minute shoppers and focus on your family (and presents!) this holiday season.So start shopping today with that second chance you’ve been given. You probably won’t get another one!

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