What Are Qualifying Life Events and Why Do They Matter?
Life is full of changes, and some of those changes can affect your health insurance. If you’ve ever wondered why certain life events allow you to adjust your insurance coverage, it’s because of qualifying life events.
A qualifying life event is a significant change in your life that makes you eligible for a special enrollment period, allowing you to update your health insurance outside the standard enrollment periods. Understanding qualifying life events can help you avoid gaps in coverage and ensure your health insurance meets your changing needs.
What Qualifies as a Life Event?
Here’s a quick list of common qualifying life events:
- Turning 65: If you are turning 65, this is a qualifying life event.
- Moving to a New Area: A significant move that changes your health plan’s service area is a qualifying life event. This means you may need to enroll in a new plan that covers your new location.
- Lost Coverage: There are many reason you may lose health insurance such as losing a dependent, a spouse, a job or another financial change. Most losses of coverage are considered qualifying life events.
- There may be other special enrollment periods that allow you to enroll in Medicare Advantage.
How a Special Enrollment Period Works
When a qualifying life event happens, you have a 60-day window to make changes to your health insurance. During this period, you can:
- Enroll in a new plan
- Adjust your current coverage
- Add or remove dependents
It’s important to act quickly. Once the 60-day window closes, you may have to wait for the next open enrollment period to make any changes, which could leave you uninsured or improperly covered in the meantime.
Enroll in Your Medicare Advantage Plan
H1189_WEB25MM3012_M | Last Updated 2/5/25