How long to get an ACA policy in place?

[Gone Fishing]

For the folks that bought policies on the federal exchange, how long did it take from start to finish to get the policy in place?

[Gone Fishing]

Bump

[Credaholic]

How long did it take to fill out the application? A couple hours, and that was because the site was having issues - I procrastinated to the last possible day for a January 1st start. I think that was Dec. 15th and the policy started Jan. 1st. Hope I'm answering your question properly!

[seattlecyclone]

Haven't done it myself, but I had some friends go through a ridiculous amount of hassle getting an ACA plan for their family (with a baby daughter). They had to go back and forth dozens of times to try and prove their income to get the premiums set up with the right subsidies. They were repeatedly denied because the bureaucrat looking at their application didn't think they provided enough documentation of their income or something. Then they would submit more documentation and the next bureaucrat would find a different thing wrong with it. It was complicated by the fact that they had moved recently and didn't have steady employment yet (hence why they needed a subsidized plan in the first place). My guess is they would have had little problem if they had been able to pay the full premium up front and let the subsidy sort itself out at tax time.

[forummm]

I helped people sign up. My brother signed up on December 24th and the policy took effect January 1st. There were deadlines each month (usually the 15th, but December was an exception) for coverage to start the first of the next month. In January many plans let you make the first payment a week or so into January and the coverage was still good retroactive back to the first. I don't know how many plans are allowing retroactive payments at this point. But if you meet the deadlines they have to give you the coverage.

[forummm]

Haven't done it myself, but I had some friends go through a ridiculous amount of hassle getting an ACA plan for their family (with a baby daughter). They had to go back and forth dozens of times to try and prove their income to get the premiums set up with the right subsidies. They were repeatedly denied because the bureaucrat looking at their application didn't think they provided enough documentation of their income or something. Then they would submit more documentation and the next bureaucrat would find a different thing wrong with it. It was complicated by the fact that they had moved recently and didn't have steady employment yet (hence why they needed a subsidized plan in the first place). My guess is they would have had little problem if they had been able to pay the full premium up front and let the subsidy sort itself out at tax time.

They did have some trouble validating incomes for people who signed up during that last minute crush of applications. My brother had a similar problem but only had to upload documentation one time. Hopefully they've gotten things fixed for this year.

Even if they do require documentation to get the right amount of tax credit, your coverage will still start right away (you just might be paying a different premium until they have the tax credit amount straightened out). The tax credit will be reconciled at the end of the year when you file your taxes, so it doesn't matter if you don't get the full amount during the year (or get too much)--it will add (or subtract) to your refund or the check you have to write at tax time.