I'm Samantha Zilsdorf, the supervisor of Patient Access for Tahoe Forest Health System and today we're going to talk about Open Enrollment. Open Enrollment for health insurance marketplace begins on November 1st, and this is the first day that you can enroll in, renew, or change your marketplace plan coverage. Covered California is a free service that connects Californians with health insurance coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It is the only place you may be able to receive financial help for your health insurance plans from well known commercial companies. You may qualify for a discount of your health plan premium through Covered California or you may qualify for the State's Medi-cal program. Medi-cal and Covered California utilize the same application so when you submit your information, you will get a determination whether you qualify for Medi-cal or Covered California. Outside the yearly Open Enrollment period, the only time that you can change your marketplace plan is if there is a life-changing event or a significant change in your income that allows you to qualify for the special enrollment period. If you feel that you may qualify for Medi-cal, you can apply throughout the year at any time.
Your health insurance marketplace plan covers 10 essential health benefits. For example, that's hospitalization, emergency room services, or lab services, as well as preventative services and coverage for pre-existing conditions. If you live in California, you can apply at
coveredca.com. If you live in Nevada, you can apply at
nevadahealthlink.com. You can fill out and mail in your application or you can utilize a certified enrollment partner. If you feel you may qualify for Medi-cal or Nevada Medicaid and you have had services at Tahoe Forest Health System, you can reach out to our financial counseling department at
(530) 582-6458 and they can assist you with submitting your application. You can also mail in your application or visit your local county social services office.
Medicare also has an open enrollment period. The initial Open Enrollment period for Medicare is 3 months prior to when you turn age 65 and at that time, you can enroll in any plan. Open enrollment period for Medicare for all current Medicare members is October 15th through December 7th in order to have coverage starting on January 1st. During this period, you can join, drop, or switch your Medicare Advantage Plan. You can switch from original Medicare to Medicare Advantage plan or vice versa. You can also join or drop or switch your Medicare drug plan if you currently have original Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans have an open enrollment period. If you're a current Medicare Advantage plan member, this is January 1st through March 31st. During that time, you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan with or without drug coverage. You can drop your Medicare Advantage plan and join original Medicare. I'm Samantha Zilsdorf, the supervisor of patient access for Tahoe Forest Health System. Thank you for listening.
