Switching Obamacare plans outside of the open enrollment period
Wisconsin resident here. I left my job as a teacher this May, and I thought that was a qualifying event for open enrollment. I'm now under the impression it's not, since I wasn't offered any health insurance through my employer ever, and I now am under the impression that leaving a job that didn't offer insurance doesn't count as a qualifying event for special enrollment. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
So then, since my previous job didn't offer insurance, I got an individual plan through the marketplace last year. After leaving my previous job, I decided now would be a good time to switch since I thought I qualified. When I spoke to the insurance salesman over the phone, I told him that I had left my job and that my old job never offered me any health insurance, and for some reason, I was still allowed to switch obamacare insurances (perhaps I wasn't clear enough that I wasn't offered insurance through my old job and the guy thought I did lose my insurance). Perhaps the fact my expected income ($20,000) is less than 150% of the poverty level.
So to sum up, I had insurance through the marketplace, not through the employer, and then I switched to a new plan starting after I left my job because I thought I qualified to be able to switch. But I also might qualify for the open enrollment period since I expect to make less than 150% of the poverty level here. Will I get in any trouble for the switch, or will I be okay legally? If am I going to get in any trouble for this, what can I do to correct my mistake? If your answer is that I'm okay because I expect to make less than 150% of the poverty level, what would change if I ended up making more than that, and what consequences would I face in that scenario?
submitted by /u/frontporch08
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