Consumers can enroll in a Covered California Health plan or change their current plan if they experience a Qualifying Life Event (QLE)—this is called Special Enrollment. Consumers who experience a QLE have up to 60 days from the date of the event to enroll. If 60 days pass and the consumer does not sign up for health coverage, they will have to wait until the next Open Enrollment or experience a different QLE. To help consumers who didn’t know about the tax penalty or the availability of state subsidies to help pay for health coverage, Covered California has added a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) with new QLEs—view the new Quick Guide! New QLEs are now available until April 30, 2020, for this distinct Special Enrollment Period:
1. Learned of new PENALTY/FINANCIAL HELP
2. Covered, seeking subsidy
A short coverage gap of up to a full 3 months is exempt from the penalty, so an April 1 start date will NOT be subject to the mandate penalty. However, consumers who plan select after March 31 will have a May 1 effective date and, therefore, will be subject to 4 months of penalty. New SEP Coverage Effective Dates and Penalty
