After Enrollment

Your health insurance start date depends on when you enrolled.

• During Open Enrollment: If you enrolled between November 1st and December 15th, your plan begins on January 1st.
• During Open Enrollment: If you enrolled between December 16th and January 15th, your plan begins on February 1st.
• Outside of Open Enrollment: If you enrolled through a Special Enrollment Period (SEP), coverage typically begins the 1st day of the month following the change or your plan selection. Check your enrollment notice to confirm your plan’s start date.

Coverage continues through the end of the calendar year unless you have a change in circumstance, such as gaining coverage through your employer or enrolling in Medicaid or Medicare.

When you apply and enroll in coverage on Georgia Access, the information you enter on your application is automatically verified using electronic data sources. If the information on your application does not match the electronic data sources, you will receive a Data Matching Issue (DMI) Notice. You may still be able to enroll in a plan, but you must submit documentation to resolve the DMI. Your plan will be canceled if you miss the deadline to resolve the DMI. Contact your agent or the Georgia Access Contact Center at 1-888-687-1503 TTY 711 for help with resolving your DMI. You can also refer to this resource for details on the types of DMIs and acceptable forms of documentation.

There are four key financial obligations you need to be aware of when enrolling in a plan on Georgia Access.

1. To activate your coverage, you must submit your first premium payment to your insurance company by the specified deadline. If you do not submit this first payment by the deadline, your coverage will be canceled for the year.
2. You must continue to pay your premium every month to keep your coverage active. Insurance companies allow for a short grace period for late payments, but you could lose your insurance if you miss the window.
3. If you receive financial assistance to lower your monthly premium (known as advance premium tax credits (“APTCs”) or federal subsidies), you must file your federal income taxes and reconcile these federal tax credits on your tax return. Georgia Access will send you Form 1095-A in January after the end of your plan year. You will need to submit this form with your federal tax returns. If your income is higher than you estimated for the year, you are responsible for paying all excess APTCs to the federal government. It is important to report changes to your income throughout the year to Georgia Access to minimize your financial liability at the end of the year.
4. You are also responsible for paying your portion of the costs when receiving healthcare services as outlined in your plan details. These are known as copayments (copays), coinsurance, and deductibles.

To make sure you always have timely updates, sign up to receive electronic notifications from Georgia Access about your application, plan, required actions, and renewals. You can update your notification preferences through the Georgia Access Consumer Portal, your agent, or by calling the Georgia Access Contact Center at 1-888-687-1503 TTY 711.

If you enrolled in coverage through a certified Georgia Access web-broker, you can also opt into electronic notifications through these providers.

You can report changes, like a change in income, getting new insurance coverage (like Medicaid or Medicare), having a child, or getting married throughout the year using the same resources you used to enroll in coverage on Georgia Access.

When you enroll on Georgia Access, you will be given an option to be automatically re-enrolled into your same plan for the next year. Unless you opt out, Georgia Access will send you a renewal notice in October ahead of Open Enrollment with information to continue for the next year. It is important to review and update your application information each year during Open Enrollment to ensure accuracy for coverage and financial assistance. You may also want to enroll into a different plan as new plans are added each year. Remember, you must continue to pay your monthly premiums to maintain coverage even when re-enrolling into the same plan.