Need to sign up for insurance benefits? You have few options

With the open enrollment period to sign up for health insurance benefits through the federal and state exchanges now largely over, many Americans have few options if they missed enrolling for health coverage. According to The New York Times, only those people who have major life changes can continue to apply for coverage through the marketplaces. Most others must wait until the next open enrollment period, which starts this November.

Those who are getting married or divorced may apply for coverage past the deadline, but they must do so within 60 days of the change and provide supporting documentation so the marketplace can verify that the said change took place. Those who give birth to or adopt a child may also do this, as well as those who lose their employer-sponsored coverage.

According to Dayton Wiese, a health insurance benefits consultant at the Virginia Farm Bureau’s Experient Health, people who qualify for a hardship waiver can also be exempted. This waiver is for those families and individuals who could not find affordable coverage, or when premiums exceed 8 percent of their income, according to the White House.