Your 2022 Obamacare Open Enrollment Cheat Sheet

Starting on November 1st, people will be able to enroll into health insurance. This is the time of year when individuals and families can shop the federal marketplace. Keep in mind, these are the plans that are required by law to cover preexisting conditions. These plans also cover doctor visits, preventive care, hospitalization, prescription drugs, and other essential health benefits.

Depending on how you file taxes, you may qualify for a tax credit. This could significantly reduce the cost you pay each month. Some folks may even qualify for a $0 monthly premium. To see if you qualify, many factors are taken into account such as age, household size, income, and zip code.

In order to have the easiest insurance shopping experience, here are some pieces of information I would recommend gathering first …

• Is this for Yourself or the entire family?
• Your Address
• Your Phone Number
• Your Email
• Your Date of Birth(s)
• Your Household Size
• Your Medical Concerns
• Your Prescriptions
• Your Doctors/Hospitals you want in Network
• Your Estimated Annual income for 2022
• Your Current Policy (if you have one)

Know Your Basic Information First

Before we can even get started, we first need to know who is getting covered? Is it just for you? Is this for the whole family? What is the household size and date or births? Also, what medical concerns do you have? Do you take medication? What about doctors? Any specific doctors or hospitals you want to make sure are within the network?

These are the things you should have in order first before you start shopping for plans.

Predict Your Annual Income and Know how You File Taxes

Your annual income is going to play a big part in determining if you qualify for a tax credit (discount). It is important to be realistic. If you don't know for sure, I would recommend rounding up in this case. If you put less than what you actually made on an application, you could potentially owe taxes at the end of that year. Remember this is your annual household income, so figure out how you file taxes as well (single, married, separate).

View Plans and Enroll

You can view plans by going to healthcare.gov. There you can see a break down of plans. See what each plan covers and even enroll. If you have insurance now, you can even compare it with the plans you see on the marketplace.

Help Getting Enrolled

If you need help getting enrolled, I would recommend finding a good health insurance broker. An insurance broker can usually do most of the leg work for you and help simplify the process.

In addition, try to enroll sooner than later. Open enrollment lasts for 11/01/21 to 01/15/2022. With the holidays coming up, it would probably be easier to just get in done. That way you can start off the healthy new year right. Right? Right!