Health Advocacy

Health Insurance

Get enrolled in a health insurance plan or Apple Health (Medicaid) with the assistance of our multilingual healthcare navigation counselors. We will help you find a plan that meets your health needs, especially for our LGBTQ community, and there’s no charge for our services.

If you’re uninsured or face other qualifying events (see below), you may enroll at any time of year. Meet with our healthcare counselors to find the best options for you.

Open Enrollment Periods

Open Enrollment runs from November 1 to January 15, 2023 with two deadlines.

Deadline 1 is December 15, 2023. Those who sign up by this date will receive insurance by January 1, 2023.

The final deadline is January 15, 2023. Those who sign up by this date will receive insurance by February 1, 2023.

Types of Health Plans

We enroll individuals in the following plans based on their eligibility:

  • Apple Health (Medicaid)
  • Qualified Health Plans (affordable standard and public option plans, including Cascade Care)

Eligibility

Eligibility

To be eligible to enroll in health coverage, you:

  • Must live in the United States*
  • Must be a U.S. citizen or national** (or be lawfully present)*** 
  • Can’t be incarcerated
  • Have a qualifying event (if outside of special enrollment period)

*Must be considered a “resident” of the United States for tax purposes. Generally, health insurance covers health care provided by doctors, hospitals, and other providers within the United States. If you’re living abroad, it’s important to know this before you consider signing up for insurance.

**A U.S. national is someone who’s a U.S. citizen or a person who isn’t a U.S. citizen but owes permanent allegiance to the U.S. With extremely limited exception by which he or she is entitled to be protected, all non-citizen U.S. nationals are people born in American Samoa or abroad with one or more American Samoan parents under certain conditions.

***Immigrants with the following statuses qualify:

  • Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR/Green Card holder)
  • Asylee
  • Refugee
  • Cuban/Haitian Entrant
  • Paroled into the U.S.
  • Conditional Entrant Granted before 1980
  • Battered Spouse, Child and Parent
  • Victim of Trafficking and his/her Spouse, Child, Sibling or Parent
  • Granted Withholding of Deportation or Withholding of Removal, under the immigration laws or under the Convention against Torture (CAT)
  • Individual with Non-immigrant Status, includes worker visas (such as H1, H-2A, H-2B), student visas, U-visa, T-visa, and other visas, and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau
  • Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
  • Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)
  • Deferred Action Status (Exception: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is not an eligible immigration status for applying for health insurance)
  • Lawful Temporary Resident
  • Administrative order staying removal issued by the Department of Homeland Security
  • Member of a federally-recognized Indian tribe or American Indian Born in Canada
  • Resident of American Samoa

Applicants for any of these statuses qualify:

  • Temporary Protected Status with Employment Authorization
  • Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
  • Victim of Trafficking Visa
  • Adjustment to LPR Status
  • Asylum (see note below)
  • Withholding of Deportation, or Withholding of Removal, under the immigration laws or under the Convention against Torture (CAT): Applicants for asylum are eligible for coverage only if they’ve been granted employment authorization or are under the age of 14 and have had an application pending for at least 180 days.

People with the following statuses and who have employment authorization qualify:

  • Registry Applicants
  • Order of Supervision
  • Applicant for Cancellation of Removal or Suspension of Deportation
  • Applicant for Legalization under Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
  • Legalization under the LIFE Act

Remember: Information about immigration status will be used only to determine eligibility for coverage and not for immigration enforcement.

Qualifying Events

You may be eligible to enroll outside of open enrollment only if you have a qualifying life event. Meet with our affirming navigators today to find the best options for you.

Qualifying Event Examples

  • Experience a decrease in income
  • Loss of other coverage
  • Getting married
  • Deceased person on coverage
  • Child Birth
  • Eligible for subsidies (tax credits and/or cost-sharing reductions)
  • Had Minimum Essential Coverage for at least 1 day during the 60 days prior to
    income change^

^Customers must report this qualifying life event within 60 days of newly gaining tax credit eligibility.

 

Canceling a Plan

Our health navigators will help you cancel your plan.

Ensure you are eligible for your employer’s health coverage at this time of the year and confirm your enrollment. 

Please note: If you end all health coverage (both your insurance plan and employer-provided health insurance) and don’t replace it, the government may require you to pay a fee.

How do I enroll on my own?

You can explore and sign up for plans at wahealthplanfinder.org. If you need help, you can always just schedule an appointment with us for assistance!