A qualifying life event can open a Special Enrollment Period to get or change Health Insurance Marketplace (ACA) coverage outside Open Enrollment. Here's exactly what applies when you divorce and lose your health coverage.
Quick answer: If a divorce or legal separation causes you to lose your health coverage, you get a Special Enrollment Period. You have 60 days from the date you lose the coverage to enroll in a Marketplace plan. Divorce without a loss of coverage does not, by itself, open a window.
Enroll in your own Marketplace plan and apply for premium tax credits based on your new household income and size. Because your household has changed, the amount of premium help you qualify for is likely to change too.
Coverage generally starts the first day of the month after you pick a plan. After enrolling you may have 30 days to send documents showing the coverage loss, such as a divorce decree or a letter ending the prior plan.
People who lose health coverage as a result of a divorce or legal separation — most often someone coming off an ex-spouse's employer or Marketplace plan. If you keep your own coverage through the divorce, this SEP does not apply.
The official HealthCare.gov screener walks through your situation in a few questions and tells you if a Special Enrollment Period is open — free, no obligation.
Check on HealthCare.gov →Divorce qualifies when it causes you to lose health coverage — for example, being removed from an ex-spouse's plan. That loss of coverage opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period. A divorce that doesn't change your coverage does not, by itself, open a window.
If the divorce causes you to lose coverage, you have 60 days from the date the coverage ends to enroll in a Marketplace plan. Report it as soon as you know the end date so your new plan can start with the smallest possible gap.
Use the free tools to organize your records and confirm details against current official documents.
See the ACA Health Agent Tracker for free →These windows are based on U.S. government Health Insurance Marketplace rules: