Help!!! I forgot to pay my health insurance bill!

We are in the brave, new world of federally-controlled heath insurance.  The Affordable Care Act allowed the federal government to set annual open enrollment periods.  During those weeks (usually in the fall of the year), you may enroll in a new health plan or change your current plan.  Outside of those few weeks a year, an individual cannot enroll in health insurance unless they have a qualifying event such as getting married, turning 26 or losing their coverage.  These open enrollment periods apply to ALL health insurance not just insurance purchased on the federal marketplace that people erroneously refer to as "Obamacare."  The only exception are plans provided through employers or government programs such as the VA or Medicare (which has its own enrollment periods).

Now, here is the problem.  If you forget to pay your health insurance bill and that plan is terminated by the insurance company, YOU CANNOT ENROLL IN ANOTHER PLAN until the annual open enrollment.  And, since you did not have coverage for a period of time as required by the federal government, you will be assessed a penalty on your tax return.

For security reasons, I don't usually recommend for a person give out their banking information.  However, paying for your HEALTH INSURANCE (and perhaps your car insurance) is a big exception!  You need for that bill to be paid first!  What if you were in an accident or some disaster happened and you were physically unable to pay your bill?  Just when you might need your health insurance the most, it could be terminated for lack of payment and you can't get it back.

So, lesson learned.  Everyone has money problems once in awhile but, with the new ACA law, paying your health insurance premiums is as serious as, well, a heart attack.

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