As you may be aware, the annual Open Enrollment Period (OEP) for healthcare occurs during the fall each year. Open Enrollment 2019 is going on right now.

Even though it’s currently 2018, people add next year’s date to this year’s open enrollment. Our current open enrollment is called “Open Enrollment Period 2019”. So why is this? We all know what year it is, right?

Reasons Behind the Open Enrollment Name

Health insurance companies do indeed know what year it is. However, that is not how naming conventions for OEP work. This Enrollment Period is referred to as OEP 2019 because you are choosing plans that will take effect on January 1, 2019.

This is just like last year, in the calendar year of 2017, when you participated in OEP 2018 for plans that would take effect this year. OEP 2018 ended on December 15, 2017.

How to Remember the ACA Open Enrollment Year

To easily determine which OEP year it is, think of what year you will be using the health insurance, not what year you will be performing the actual enrollment.

Looking to the future, to when the plan will actually be used, is an easy way to keep everything straight. During this open enrollment period, you are signing up for plans for 2019, so it is OEP 2019.

Who’s Calling This OEP6?

We’re all clear on OEP 2018 vs. OEP 2019, but you may have heard policymakers refer to Open Enrollment Period 2019 as “OEP6”. What does that mean?

Simply put, some folks call this OEP6 because this is the sixth open enrollment period that has occurred since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010. Last year was OEP5, and next year will be OEP7. OEP1 took place in 2014.

How Long is Open Enrollment?

OEP 2019 is only six weeks long, which is about as long as OEP 2018 but shorter than it has been in years before that. OEP1 was 26 weeks long, and subsequent years were still longer than 12 weeks. However, in 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services reduced the open enrollment period to just six weeks.

No matter what you call this year's health insurance Open Enrollment Period, now is your time to #getcovered for next year.
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If you miss this six-week window, you could potentially be without health insurance for the upcoming calendar year. However, there could be exceptions based upon where you live. Seven states have already decided to extend this year’s OEP as of writing, and more still could.

What is the ACA Special Enrollment Period?

Another way you can get insurance outside of the Open Enrollment Period is during a special enrollment period. Special enrollment periods occur whenever you encounter a qualifying life event. If one of these life events occurs, you are allowed to enroll in health insurance, without penalty, within 60 days of that event.

Events include things like getting married, getting divorced, having a baby, or having COBRA insurance expire. Typically, documents proving these life events have occurred are required. A full list of qualifying life events and further details on special enrollment periods can be found here.

What Year Is the Medicare Open Enrollment Period?

What most people call Medicare Open Enrollment is technically named the Annual Election Period (AEP). AEP ends on December 7, one week before ACA open enrollment finishes. Medicare Open Enrollment goes by the same “one year in the future” standard.

Importance of Knowing the OEP Year

You can see why it is important to know that OEP 2019 is happening now – if you were to think that since it was called “2019,” it was happening next year, you might miss the six-week window for coverage and be dangerously underinsured for next year.

No one wants to be without health insurance, so you can see why it’s important to participate in this year’s Open Enrollment Period. Go online today to find the plan that’s just right for you and your loved ones. Consider open enrollment a holiday season gift to yourself.

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