marketplace and see if you qualify for a special enrollment. Life changes and circumstances make it possible for you to qualify outside the open enrollment period for health insurance. You can also get healthcare if you qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. You can learn more about this and see if you qualify for health Insurance enrollment outside of the open enrollment period here.
Do You Have to Have Health Insurance If You’re a Freelancer?
If you can afford health insurance, then you must buy your own health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Even self-employed or freelance workers need to have the “minimal essential coverage” health insurance.
How Tax Credits for Freelance Workers and Health Insurance Costs Work
Subsidies and tax credits can help make your health care costs affordable. You may also be able to get an advance tax credit. In a Department of Health and Human Services Report from March 2016: “The average advance premium tax credit covers about 73 percent of the gross premium for individuals who qualify for an average advance premium tax credit.”
The Penalty for Not Having Health Insurance Is Not Worth It
If you can afford health insurance and don’t qualify for an exemption, then you will have a penalty to pay known as the individual mandate penalty. The penalty is payable when you file the taxes for the year you did not have health care. The amount of the fee depends on your personal situation and can end up being quite costly. It is based on the