You Now Have Until Aug. 15 to Sign Up For Insurance On HealthCare.Gov!

We have good news if you or your family need health insurance this year! 

HealthCare.Gov reopened on February 15th — and the Biden administration recently announced it will remain open until August 15th. Typically, HealthCare.Gov is only open in the fall, with exceptions if you get married, have a baby, or meet other criteria. But this year, the Biden administration has reopened HealthCare.Gov, recognizing the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on so many of us.

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Financial assistance is available for many shoppers with low or middle incomes to help lower the cost of their plan. In fact, 9 out of 10 consumers who signed up for coverage in Texas last year qualified for reduced-price coverage.

However, Texans with jobs below the poverty line do NOT qualify for financial assistance. Medicaid expansion was intended to provide them an insurance option, but the Texas Legislature has not accepted Medicaid expansion funding yet to offer this option. The Legislature will consider Medicaid expansion during the current legislative session.

Remember, insurance plans on HealthCare.Gov must include key benefits like mental health care, maternity care, prescription drug coverage, and hospitalization services. (Plans outside HealthCare.Gov do not have to offer the same protections or financial help, so always make sure to use HealthCare.Gov when enrolling in coverage.)

Community organizations are standing by to offer Texans free help with the sign-up process in the following areas:

  • Austin: Call 2-1-1 or 512-381-4520 or visit ProsperHealthCoverage.org or the Central Health Enroll ATX site. Organizations providing assistance include Foundation Communities, CommUnityCare, Light and Salt, Lonestar Circle of Care, and United Way of Williamson County.

  • Dallas: Visit the Dallas County ACA website and click on “Local Marketplace Assistance.” Organizations providing assistance include Parkland Health and Hospital System, Mission East Dallas, Los Barrios Unidos Clinic, and more.

  • El Paso: Call Centro San Vicente at 915-858-2932 or Project Vida at 915-533- 7057, ext. 340 or 381.

  • Gulf Coast/Houston: Visit the Get Covered Connector to search for assistance by zip code. Organizations providing assistance include Legacy Community Health, Change Happens, Light and Salt, and Avenue360.

  • Rio Grande Valley: Call MHP Salud at 956-246-4125 or visit the MHP Salud Navigator Program.

  • San Antonio: Call 2-1-1 or visit enrollsa.com. Organizations providing assistance include CentroMed.

Options for Texans living outside of the areas listed above:

  • Contact your local community health center for in-person assistance. Texans can use MyTexasMyHealth.org to search for their local community health center.

  • HealthCare.Gov has a tool to Find Local Help. To filter results so that only the trained assisters from local community-based organizations are visible, you can remove the “Agent or Broker” box under “Filter,” so that only the “Assisters” box is showing. (Assisters are certified people trained to help Texans apply and enroll in a health plan with savings or apply for Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). They are required to provide fair, impartial, and accurate information, free of charge.)

  • Foundation Communities’ Prosper Health Coverage Program provides enrollment assistance over the phone by appointment for Texas residents that have no community-based assisters in their area. Call 512-381-4520 or visit ProsperHealthCoverage.org.

Cover Texas NowACA Enrollment, Federal Policy