The open enrollment period to sign up for health insurance starts November 15 and runs through February 15. That gives customers a short three-month window to sign up. There will not be another chance to enroll again until next November. Wyoming Insurance Commissioner Tom Hirsig says a wide range of Wyoming residents qualify for government aid to help pay for the health insurance.
“That’s kind of the range,” he says. “A single person making $12,000 to, say, a family of four making $100,000. So as you can well imagine that encompasses a vast majority of the population of Wyoming.”
Hirsig says the best way to sign up is to call one of the two Wyoming insurance companies—Win Health or Blue Cross-Blue Shields—and have an agent walk you through the possible plans, which range from very basic and inexpensive to comprehensive with low co-pays. Dental insurance is also available.
But he says it’s important for people who signed up last year to re-enroll this year to get the best deal.
“You need to re-enroll in the exchange,” Hirsig says. “You need to go back through and select plans. The pricing of the plans has changed so that’s going to affect your subsidy levels. So people that enrolled last year also need to go back in and verify their information and make sure everything’s current. ”
Hirsig says health insurance is now mandatory and a tax penalty will be issued for people who don’t have it.