You can be included on your parent’s application. Your parent can add you during Open Enrollment (or during a Special Enrollment Period, if they qualify). Losing a student health plan may qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) where your parent can enroll you outside Open Enrollment.

You have two options:

• Apply for coverage with your parent or stay on their ACA plan. Before you enroll or decide to stay on a parent’s plan, be sure to read the plan’s coverage documents and review the provider network carefully so you know how the plan covers care delivered in the state you go to school.

• Apply yourself in the state you go to school. You may want to do this to enroll in a plan that better meets your needs in the state you go to school. Even though you are enrolling individually, there are some things to know:
  • You’ll still be included in your parent’s tax household, even though you’re applying separately. They’ll fill out or update their application and state that you don’t need health coverage. Your income will still be counted because marketplace savings are based on expected income for all tax household members, not just the ones who need insurance.
  • When you fill out your own separate application, note that your parents and the other members of their tax household don’t need health coverage. But you’ll include their income on your application.
  • The cost of both your plan and your parent’s plan may be reduced with a premium tax credit. The extra savings will be based on the whole household’s income, not just yours.
  • When you move to or from the place you live and go to school, you may be eligible for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) allowing you to enroll outside the yearly Open Enrollment Period.

You have the same options as students under age 26. But if you apply with your parents, you may be required to choose a separate plan because you’re 26 or older.

• If you live separately from your parents (whether in the same state or a different one), fill out your own separate application. Your savings will be based on only your income, not your parent’s.
• If you live with a parent,  You should apply on your own separate application. But if you’re under 21, you may need to provide information about your parents and their income to complete the application.