Losing Individual Health Insurance When You Don't Pay the Premiums

If your Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) health insurance plan was canceled because you were too late paying your health insurance premiums, you need to understand what happens to your unpaid medical bills, your health insurance subsidy (if applicable), and your options for obtaining new health insurance coverage.

This article will explain what you can expect and what your options are if this happens to you.

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What Happens With Unpaid Medical Bills

There's a grace period for overdue insurance premiums when you purchase your own coverage, but the length of the grace period depends on whether or not you're receiving a premium tax credit (health insurance premium subsidy) to help you pay for the coverage you bought through an Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange (Marketplace).

If you're receiving a premium tax credit and you've already paid your first monthly premium to effectuate your coverage, your grace period is 90 days. If not (in other words, if you're paying full price, either through the exchange or directly through an insurance company), your grace period will generally only be one month.

Note that for the first month's premium (to effectuate the coverage), the insurer will give you a due date, which is applicable regardless of whether you're receiving premium subsidies. If you don't pay your premium by that date, your coverage simply won't take effect in the first place.

Pre-ACA, 30-day grace periods were the norm. But the text of the ACA includes a requirement (see Section 1412(c)(2)(B)(iv)(II)) that insurers offer a 90-day grace period if a person is receiving premium tax credits.

If you don't pay your past-due premiums by the end of the grace period, your coverage will be terminated. If you had a 90-day grace period, your coverage termination date will be retroactive to the end of the first month of your grace period. In other words, you'll have received one free month of coverage. But note that when you file your taxes, you'll have to pay back the premium subsidy that was paid on your behalf for that month.

If your grace period was only a month, your coverage will be terminated retroactively to the last date through which your coverage was paid up (i.e., you do not get any free coverage).

Either way, there is a chance that you may have some medical bills bounce back to you unpaid by your former health plan. This happens if you received healthcare services while you were in your second or third month of being behind on paying your health insurance premium (if you were receiving a premium subsidy) or if you received healthcare services during the first month that your premium was late (if you were not receiving a premium subsidy).

If you're receiving a premium subsidy and you fall behind on your premium payments, your health plan will place incoming claims on "pending" status once you’re more than 30 days late paying your health insurance premium.

Rather than processing and paying these claims, they’re put on hold while the insurance company waits to see if you catch up on your premium payments. If you don’t catch up, your health insurance will be canceled once you’re more than 90 days late. The cancellation will be retroactive to the end of the first month that your premiums were overdue.

Claims for health care you got while you were between 31 and 90 days late paying your premiums will be denied and the healthcare provider will expect you to pay them. Since the cancellation of your health insurance was retroactive to the date you became 31 days late, you’ll no longer be eligible for the discount your former health plan negotiated with your in-network provider. In effect, you were uninsured when you got that care. Your bill could be significantly higher without the network discount.

Similarly, if you're not receiving a premium subsidy and you don't pay your premium by the end of your grace period, your insurer will terminate your coverage back to the last day you were paid up, and any claims that you incurred during the month-long grace period will not be paid.

If you think this may happen to you, the worst thing you can do is nothing. Be proactive. Go to your medical provider before your health insurance is terminated and negotiate a deal.

Some providers send overdue accounts to collection agencies, so failure to act could impact your credit score and make it harder to get credit in the future. Medical debt is handled differently from other types of debt, and some types of medical debt are no longer included on credit reports. But it can still affect your credit score, depending on the circumstances.

When you approach your provider about the unpaid bill, be honest about your situation. Many healthcare providers will negotiate payment plans because they’d rather be paid slowly than not be paid at all. Negotiating a payment plan may keep your bill out of the hands of a collection agency. If you received care from a large organization such as a hospital, ask about the availability of a self-pay discount or charity care.

Is There a Penalty for Being Uninsured?

From 2014 to 2018, there was a federal penalty for being uninsured. The penalty was based on your income and depended on the number of months you didn’t have health insurance coverage for at least one day.

The federal penalty was reduced to $0 as of 2019, so people who are uninsured are no longer subject to a penalty on their federal tax returns.

But residents of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, California, and DC are subject to state-based penalties if they don't have health insurance and aren't eligible for an exemption from the state's coverage requirement.

Options for Coverage After Your Plan Has Been Canceled

Losing your health insurance because you didn’t pay your premiums does not make you eligible for a special enrollment period on the health insurance exchange or outside of the exchange (ie, directly through an insurance company).

You won’t be able to sign up for an Obamacare plan again until the next annual open enrollment period, unless you experience certain qualifying life events. Here are some other options for health insurance coverage in the meantime.

  • Medicaid: The Medicaid program has strict income limits to qualify but allows enrollments all year long to those who qualify. The majority of the states have expanded Medicaid under the ACA, which means coverage is available to adults with household income up to 138% of the poverty level (in 2023, that's a little more than $20,000 in annual income for a single adult in most states). And Medicaid eligibility can also be determined based on monthly income, as opposed to the annual income figures that must be used to determine premium subsidy eligibility in the exchange.
    So if an income reduction was the reason you couldn't pay your health insurance premium, you might find that you're eligible for Medicaid based on your new, lower income. But in the dwindling minority of states that have not expanded Medicaid, it's much more difficult for low-income adults to qualify for Medicaid (this is the case in 10 states as of 2023).
  • Job-Based Health Insurance (Initial Enrollment Period): If you get a job that provides health insurance, you’re allowed to enroll during the initial enrollment period that occurs shortly after you start your employment and become eligible for coverage. Likewise, if your spouse gets a job that provides spousal or family health insurance, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up for coverage under their new job-based health insurance shortly after the start of employment. If you’re under 26 and one of your parents starts a new job that provides family health insurance benefits, you’ll be able to get coverage until you turn 26 under your parent’s new job-based plan.
  • Job-Based Coverage (Special Enrollment Period): If you have a change in family status or another qualifying event, you may be eligible for a special enrollment period with your own or your spouse’s existing job-based health insurance plan even if you turned that health insurance down in the past. However, losing your Obamacare insurance because you didn’t pay the premium will not qualify you for a special enrollment period. Things like getting married, having a baby, or adopting a child, will make you eligible for a special enrollment period. Ask your employee benefits office for a comprehensive list of all qualifying events.
  • Medicare: If you’re almost 65, Medicare may come to your rescue. If you, your spouse, or a former spouse has paid into the Medicare system through payroll or self-employment taxes for enough years to qualify, you’ll be eligible for Medicare when you turn 65 years old (even if you don't have at least 10 years of work history, you'll still be able to enroll in Medicare as long as you've been in the U.S. for at least five years—but with monthly premiums for Part A, rather than premium-free Part A).
  • Short-Term Health Insurance: Anyone can buy short-term health insurance directly from a health insurance company or through an insurance agent. There is no open enrollment period; you may buy at any time. However, short-term health insurance plans don't cover pre-existing conditions, don't have to cover the ACA's essential health benefits, and are allowed to use medical underwriting, which means they can reject your application based on your medical history (post-claims underwriting is also common among short-term health plans). As of 2023, the Biden administration has proposed a rule change that would limit short-term policies to no more than four months in duration, including renewals.
    Short-term health plans are available in most areas, but in 14 states and the District of Columbia, no short-term plans are for sale, either because the state has banned them altogether or implemented regulations that are unappealing to short-term health insurers. In some of those states, fixed indemnity plans are available for purchase. These plans are not adequate to serve as a person's only coverage, but they're also better than nothing at all. If you find yourself in a situation where you have no other options, a fixed indemnity plan might provide a small amount of security (but read all the fine print so that you're not surprised if and when you have a claim).
  • Special Enrollment on Your Health Insurance Exchange (or off-exchange): While losing your Obamacare plan because you didn’t pay your premiums won’t trigger a special enrollment period on your health insurance exchange, other life changes may. If you’ve had a significant life change such as a change in family size, moving, or a dramatic change in your income level, check with your health insurance exchange to see if you’re qualified for a special enrollment period. Special enrollment periods are time-limited, and in many cases, you're required to have had health insurance (minimum essential coverage) for at least one day within the previous two months—so don't delay. Most qualifying events will also allow you the option to purchase a plan outside the exchange (directly from an insurance company), but premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions are not available outside the exchange, so you'll pay full price for your coverage if you go this route.
  • Next Year’s Open Enrollment Period: Each autumn, there's an open enrollment period for individual market health insurance (both on- and off-exchange), during which you can enroll in any plan that's available in your area. In most states, this window runs from November 1 through January 15, although there's some variation among states that run their own health insurance exchanges. There is no prior coverage requirement to use this window, and pre-existing conditions are covered under the new plan as soon as it takes effect. The effective date will generally be January 1 or February 1, depending on the date that you enroll.

Summary

Most major medical health plans have a premium grace period of either one month or three months, depending on whether the person was receiving a premium subsidy to offset their costs. If premiums aren't paid up by the end of the grace period, the coverage will terminate. At that point, the person may or may not have an option to obtain new coverage. Depending on the circumstances, they may have to wait until the next annual open enrollment period to sign up for a new health plan.

A Word From Verywell

If you lose your health insurance because you didn't pay the premiums, you might have to wait several months before you can enroll in a new plan. So it's better to avoid this situation if possible.

If your income drops and you're no longer able to afford your premiums, be sure to notify the exchange/marketplace about your new income level. You might find that you're eligible for a larger subsidy (or eligible for a subsidy if you weren't before) that could make it easier for you to afford your coverage going forward. And your change in subsidy eligibility may also make you eligible to switch to a different health plan that might have more affordable monthly premiums. This could make it less likely that you end up in a situation where your coverage gets canceled due to non-payment of premiums.

9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. HealthInsurance.org. What happens if I don’t make my premium payment by the end of the grace period?

  2. 111th Congress. Text of the Affordable Care Act.

  3. HealthCare.gov. Premium payments, grace periods & termination.

  4. The White House Briefing Room. FACT SHEET: The Biden Administration Announces New Actions to Lessen the Burden of Medical Debt and Increase Consumer Protection. April 2022.

  5. Axelton, Karen, Experian. How Does Medical Debt Affect Your Credit Score?

  6. Kaiser Family Foundation. Status of State Action on the Medicaid Expansion Decision.

  7. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Coverage Gap: Uninsured Poor Adults in States that Do Not Expand Medicaid.

  8. Internal Revenue Service, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Health and Human Services Department. Proposed Rule: Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance; Independent, Noncoordinated Excepted Benefits Coverage; Level-Funded Plan Arrangements; and Tax Treatment of Certain Accident and Health Insurance. July 12, 2023

  9. Norris, Louise. healthinsurance.org. Proposed rule would limit duration of coverage under short-term health plans to 4 months. August 2023.

By Elizabeth Davis, RN
Elizabeth Davis, RN, is a health insurance expert and patient liaison. She's held board certifications in emergency nursing and infusion nursing.