Every year, there’s one busy season that involves a lot of preparation, planning, and plenty of discussion. We’re not talking about Christmas or your next summer vacation—it’s open enrollment!
Whether you’re exploring healthcare possibilities so you can become an entrepreneur, debating with your spouse over what would work best for your growing family, or you’re beginning to calculate for retirement for the first time, open enrollment involves both uncertainty and possibility.
However, open enrollment doesn’t have to be a time of frightening first steps or difficult debates, especially if you’re considering a health cost sharing solution (like CHM) for your eligible healthcare needs!
Here’s how open enrollment and health cost sharing connect.
Open enrollment
Open enrollment is the time you might be most familiar with when thinking about traditional health insurance. It typically occurs in the fall, often beginning around November. It’s a dedicated season when individuals and families can decide to change their options, try something new, or cancel their current pick altogether.
The deadline for health insurance depends on both the year and a particular state’s requirements. However, open enrollment usually ends sometime in January for most states. If you’re wondering how to get health insurance after that, you’d either need to qualify for a “special enrollment period” or investigate other limited options.
However, health cost sharing doesn’t work the same way, because it’s not insurance. As an affordable alternative to health insurance, health cost sharing equips you with freedom and flexibility.
Healthcare cost sharing
Health cost sharing ministries like CHM operate differently right from the start. While many individuals join during this period, especially when leaving a traditional health insurance plan, members of health cost sharing ministries aren’t limited to open enrollment restrictions.
That means for health cost sharing programs, you can enroll all year round! For example, with CHM, members can join and select a start date as soon as the same day they apply. Or a new member can decide to pick a future date that works best for them! Either way, members are equipped with no enrollment restrictions.
Enroll anytime
If you’re thinking that this sounds like a different way of doing healthcare, you’re right! In fact, it’s different by design.
For example, with CHM, you can enroll anytime to trade traditional health insurance for affordable programs that equip you to take charge of your healthcare. No network restrictions, innovative cost-saving solutions, and free telehealth are just a few of the perks you can experience when joining. If you want to learn more, you can download our free Info Pack , see the CHM Guidelines for more details about sharing programs, or even learn how sharing works for eligible (or ineligible) pre-existing conditions.
As you take the time to consider selections during open enrollment (and beyond), know that health cost sharing is an option that empowers you with savings, freedom, and flexibility. For health cost sharing ministries, open enrollment never ends!