 TITLE: How Does Health Insurance Work? CONTENT: You may be able to get health insurance through your employer, directly from the insurance company, through an agent or broker, or by purchasing a plan through Healthcare.gov or your state's Marketplace.\nYou can sign up for a new plan during open enrollment. For Medicare and Marketplace plans, this usually happens at the end of each year, but employers may set their own open enrollment periods.\nThere are also certain life events that qualify you for a special enrollment period, during which you can begin a new health care plan or make changes to an existing one. Commonly, this period lasts 60 days, and that's how long you'll have if you get your plan through the Marketplace, but it can vary. For example, some employers may give you just 30 days to make changes after a life event. Life events that can cause someone to qualify for this special enrollment period include:\n*   Getting married\n*   Having or adopting a child, or placing a child for foster care\n*   Losing health insurance because of a divorce or legal separation\n*   Moving\n*   Losing your current health insurance\nIn 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Marketplace is also providing a special enrollment period from February 15 to May 15.\nAdditionally, if you qualify, you can enroll in Medicaid and CHIP at any time, which may be a good option if you're unemployed, furloughed or had hours cut at work. END