Changing plans after a life event

I’m retiring before 65

How long you have

Job-based plan: Retiree coverage if your employer offers it, or COBRA for up to 18 months (see below).
HealthCare.gov: Losing job coverage opens 60 days. Tax credits depend on your expected income for the year, which often drops when you retire.
Medicare: Medicare usually starts at 65 (earlier only after 24 months of disability benefits, or with ALS or kidney failure). Sign up in the months around your 65th birthday.

Federal minimums. Employers can allow more time, and state Marketplaces can set their own rules. HealthCare.gov may ask for documents that prove the change. Medicaid and CHIP accept applications any time of year.

Keeping your job’s plan with COBRA

COBRA lets you keep the same job-based plan after the job ends or your hours drop, usually for up to 18 months (up to 36 months for a spouse after a divorce, or a child aging off a parent’s plan). It applies to employers with 20 or more workers; many states have similar rules for smaller ones.

Cost: up to 102% of the full premium, including the part your employer used to pay. It’s often much more than you paid from your paycheck.
Deadline: you have 60 days from the COBRA notice (or the date coverage ended, if later) to choose it. Coverage then goes back to the day the old coverage ended, so you can wait and only sign up if you need care, but you’d owe the premiums for those months.
Compare first: losing job coverage lets you sign up on HealthCare.gov within 60 days even if you’re offered COBRA, and tax credits can make that cheaper. Dropping COBRA early by choice doesn’t open a new window until open enrollment; COBRA running out does.

Next steps

See if you qualify for Medicaid, CHIP, or tax credits.

65 or close to it? Work out when to sign up for Medicare without a penalty.

Once you have the new plan, tell your doctor’s office so they don’t bill the old one.

Choosing between plans? Compare a year of costs, and check your drugs and doctors.

Every life event, side by sideAll eight, for job plans, HealthCare.gov, and Medicare

Losing other health coverage (a job ends, you age off a parent’s plan, Medicaid ends)

Job-based plan: 30 days to join a spouse’s or new job’s plan (60 days if Medicaid or CHIP ended).
HealthCare.gov: 60 days before or after the coverage ends. Sign up before it ends to avoid a gap.
Medicare: Lost job coverage: 8 months to sign up for Part B, and 2 months for a drug or Medicare Advantage plan.

Moving

Job-based plan: Usually not a reason to change mid-year, unless your plan has no network where you moved.
HealthCare.gov: 60 days, if you had coverage for at least one of the 60 days before the move (or lived abroad or in a U.S. territory).
Medicare: If you move out of your plan’s service area, or to a place with new plan options: 2 months to switch.

Getting married

Job-based plan: 30 days to add your spouse or join their plan.
HealthCare.gov: 60 days; coverage starts the first of the next month.
Medicare: Not a reason to switch on its own.

Having or adopting a baby

Job-based plan: 30 days to add the child; coverage goes back to the birth or adoption date.
HealthCare.gov: 60 days; coverage can start on the day of the birth or adoption.
Medicare: Not a reason to switch on its own.

Turning 26

Job-based plan: You come off a parent’s plan, usually at the end of that month or year; that counts as losing coverage.
HealthCare.gov: 60 days around the date the parent’s coverage ends.
Medicare: Doesn’t apply.

Divorce or legal separation

Job-based plan: Losing coverage through a spouse opens 30 days to join your own job’s plan; you may also qualify for COBRA.
HealthCare.gov: Only if you lose coverage as a result: 60 days.
Medicare: Not a reason to switch on its own.

Retiring before 65

Job-based plan: Retiree coverage if your employer offers it, or COBRA for up to 18 months (see below).
HealthCare.gov: Losing job coverage opens 60 days. Tax credits depend on your expected income for the year, which often drops when you retire.
Medicare: Medicare usually starts at 65 (earlier only after 24 months of disability benefits, or with ALS or kidney failure). Sign up in the months around your 65th birthday.

Income changes

Job-based plan: Not a reason to change on its own.
HealthCare.gov: Update your application within 30 days so your tax credit stays right. An income change alone usually doesn’t let you switch plans; HealthCare.gov’s year-round low-income enrollment window is no longer available.
Medicare: Qualifying for Extra Help or Medicaid lets you change drug plans; with Extra Help, you can switch to a standalone drug plan once a month.

What happened	Job-based plan	HealthCare.gov	Medicare
Losing other health coverage (a job ends, you age off a parent’s plan, Medicaid ends)	30 days to join a spouse’s or new job’s plan (60 days if Medicaid or CHIP ended).	60 days before or after the coverage ends. Sign up before it ends to avoid a gap.	Lost job coverage: 8 months to sign up for Part B, and 2 months for a drug or Medicare Advantage plan.
Moving	Usually not a reason to change mid-year, unless your plan has no network where you moved.	60 days, if you had coverage for at least one of the 60 days before the move (or lived abroad or in a U.S. territory).	If you move out of your plan’s service area, or to a place with new plan options: 2 months to switch.
Getting married	30 days to add your spouse or join their plan.	60 days; coverage starts the first of the next month.	Not a reason to switch on its own.
Having or adopting a baby	30 days to add the child; coverage goes back to the birth or adoption date.	60 days; coverage can start on the day of the birth or adoption.	Not a reason to switch on its own.
Turning 26	You come off a parent’s plan, usually at the end of that month or year; that counts as losing coverage.	60 days around the date the parent’s coverage ends.	Doesn’t apply.
Divorce or legal separation	Losing coverage through a spouse opens 30 days to join your own job’s plan; you may also qualify for COBRA.	Only if you lose coverage as a result: 60 days.	Not a reason to switch on its own.
Retiring before 65	Retiree coverage if your employer offers it, or COBRA for up to 18 months (see below).	Losing job coverage opens 60 days. Tax credits depend on your expected income for the year, which often drops when you retire.	Medicare usually starts at 65 (earlier only after 24 months of disability benefits, or with ALS or kidney failure). Sign up in the months around your 65th birthday.
Income changes	Not a reason to change on its own.	Update your application within 30 days so your tax credit stays right. An income change alone usually doesn’t let you switch plans; HealthCare.gov’s year-round low-income enrollment window is no longer available.	Qualifying for Extra Help or Medicaid lets you change drug plans; with Extra Help, you can switch to a standalone drug plan once a month.