Grace Periods: What to Do If You Can’t Pay Your Premium
As COVID-19 continues to affect your ability to work, you may find it more difficult to afford health, dental, and vision insurance plans. We know it’s stressful to lose access to the services that these plans provide. That’s why we put together our best recommendations for what to do when paying for insurance gets difficult. Hopefully one of these options helps you keep your coverage during these tough times.
#1: See If You Qualify For A Bigger Subsidy
Health insurance subsidies help lower the monthly price of your health plan. Subsidy amounts are based on your income, which means if your income changes throughout the year, so can your subsidy!
We recommend calculating how much money you expect to make this year based on changes in March and April. After that, you can update your health insurance application accordingly. If you’re eligible, the government may be able to decrease your plan price as soon as next month. For more information be sure to read this guide.
#2: Take Advantage of Grace Periods
If you ever need a little extra time to pay for your monthly health insurance premium, you may be able to take advantage of a 90-day grace period. This regulation provides 90-days from the first month you miss a payment to make up.
Let’s look at an example: say you can’t pay for your April health insurance premium. You would be able to wait until June 30th to pay before your plan is canceled.
You qualify for a grace period if you:
Have a Marketplace plan (this means your plan was sold on healthcare.gov or a state health insurance exchange like Covered CA)
Qualify for the premium tax credit, also known as a health insurance subsidy
Have paid for at least one month’s premium
If You Have Dental or Vision Insurance From Stride
Renaissance, our dental and vision insurance partner, is now offering 90-day grace periods for all members. This means you have up to three months to make up missed payments.
A Warning
While grace periods offer some flexibility, keep in mind that they are risky and should only be used if you need a little extra time to make up one month’s payment.
If you aren’t able to make up missed payments within your 90-day window, your plan will be canceled. This means that your plan will no longer cover your medical care. Additionally, you will not be eligible to re-enroll in health insurance until the next Open Enrollment Period (typically November-December of any year).
For additional COVID-19 resources, please visit our guide here.
