How you cancel individual health insurance varies depending on why you want to cancel it; such as switching over to Medicaid or Medicare or experiencing a qualifying life event. Each insurance provider has specific cancellation procedures they must abide by when cancelling a policy.
Be sure to jot down the date and time that you spoke with a representative, along with any cancellation confirmation numbers. This will make troubleshooting any future issues much simpler.
1. Contact the Company
Step one in canceling health insurance is to contact the company directly; find their phone number on your insurance card, policy documents or premium bills. When calling them directly they’ll provide cancellation protocols as well as confirm when your policy will end and refund policies; ask about these at length!
Why might you need or want to cancel my health insurance policy? Reasons include losing a job, becoming eligible for Medicaid, turning 26 and moving. In addition, open enrollment or special enrollment periods provide opportunities to make these changes.
Health insurance providers typically give at least 30 days’ notice before canceling your policy due to missed payments, giving you time to appeal the decision and secure new coverage before its effects become effective. If an internal appeal doesn’t yield satisfactory results, you may request an external review by your health insurer.
How you cancel a Marketplace plan depends on why it is being cancelled. If it is for other coverage reasons, such as finding new plans that provide similar coverage, your cancellation can take effect either immediately or set for a later date (such as knowing it will start on 1/1/19). However, if leaving to enroll in Medicare is your objective instead, follow our instructions for terminating a Marketplace plan to help plan out how best to terminate it for yourself.
2. Request a Cancellation
Your reasons for needing to cancel your health insurance may differ, such as moving states and needing to change your address on medical records or finding less expensive coverage elsewhere. No matter why it comes down to cancelling it – following proper steps could prevent financial penalties from the government or missing out on healthcare services altogether.
How you cancel your Marketplace plan depends on why and for what purpose. Please use the links below to gain more insight.
If you’re changing major medical insurance plans:
Before commencing with your new plan, be sure to cancel your current one as this ensures it will take effect as quickly as possible and eliminates any gaps in coverage. Assemble all relevant paperwork before calling your insurer to request cancellation services directly and note any ticket or confirmation numbers provided as evidence that your request was accepted or denied later on. Review any bank statements after cancelling your policy to verify that your final monthly payment matches what was stated when canceling. If there are any concerns with your cancellation, make sure to lodge a formal complaint. Your state’s chief insurance regulator’s contact details can usually be found via the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website.
3. Wait for the Cancellation Confirmation
There may be several reasons for needing to cancel an individual major medical insurance policy, including job changes that now provide employer-sponsored coverage or turning 65 and becoming Medicare eligible. You may also decide it’s no longer affordable or you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).
Cancelling health insurance will depend on your specific circumstances. The Marketplace website offers instructions on how to end a Marketplace plan when enrolling in Medicaid or CHIP or losing cost-sharing reduction subsidies (CSRs). Remember: if you switch from Medicare without cancelling marketplace insurance first, your full cost will become payable without government assistance to lower out-of-pocket expenses.
When canceling your policy, it’s best to act swiftly. There may be an 14-day waiting period before your cancellation takes effect and premium payments must continue through this time period. Alternatively, you could set an end date ahead of time should you plan on enrolling for new coverage later on.
If there are two or more individuals on your Marketplace plan, you have the option of terminating coverage for only some. While this will cause them to lose coverage altogether, they are still eligible to take advantage of special enrollment periods like March Madness to sign up for new coverage.
When canceling your plan, take note of the representative’s name, date/time, ticket/confirmation numbers provided to you as this will make any future issues much simpler. In addition, check your bank account to ensure you no longer being billed for old policies if that is still happening and contact the company asking them to refund your money or consider signing up for short term health insurance instead which offers limited benefits at lower premiums.
4. Make Sure You Stop Getting Billed
Once you have cancelled a policy, it’s important to make sure you won’t continue getting bills for it. Check your bank statements to see if any payments have been made; if any have, contact your insurance provider immediately for guidance on what action should be taken as every provider may have different cancellation protocols and each situation differs accordingly.
Unless you enroll during either open enrollment period or special enrollment periods, canceling your Marketplace plan and not signing up again during its next open enrollment period or special enrollment period will likely cause you to pay more for healthcare. This is because government subsidies were helping pay for your health coverage but will no longer exist, leaving you responsible for meeting all costs related to providing medical care for yourself and any dependents.
Your Marketplace plan may also be cancelled if you or any family members become eligible for other types of coverage such as job-based plans, Medicaid and CHIP plans, or if its cost becomes unaffordable. Please follow each scenario’s specific instructions so your cancellation goes smoothly and coverage begins as scheduled.