Special Enrollment Period
A window outside yearly open enrollment when you can sign up for or change health insurance because of a qualifying life event, like losing coverage or having a baby.
Qualifying life events include losing health coverage, moving to a new ZIP code or county, marriage, divorce, and the birth or adoption of a child. On the Marketplace, you usually have 60 days from the event to pick a plan.
Job-based plans have their own special enrollment rules. After a birth, adoption or marriage, they must give you at least 30 days to enroll.
Example
Dana loses her job-based coverage on March 31. She has until about May 30, 60 days later, to choose a Marketplace plan through a Special Enrollment Period.