Sign Up for Insurance Nov. 1 - Dec. 15 on HealthCare.Gov!

This post was updated November 5 with additional information on local assistance.

If you or your family need health insurance for 2021, you can sign up on HealthCare.Gov from November 1 - December 15, 2020.

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Yes, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is still the law of the land — and health coverage is available for next year! Even if state leaders and the White House succeed in their efforts to eliminate the ACA, experts expect that health coverage will still be available throughout 2021.

So check out your options on HealthCare.Gov, and remember:

  • Financial assistance is still available for low and middle-income shoppers 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 a tax credit.

  • 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, so always make sure to use HealthCare.Gov when enrolling in coverage.)

  • Community organizations are standing by to offer you free help with the sign-up process. See below for more details.

More information on local organizations providing assistance:

The following resources are available to help Texans connect with local organizations that provide enrollment assistance:

  • 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.