Special Enrollment Period
What qualifies as a life event?
While the next Open Enrollment begins November 1, 2025, you may not have to wait. You could be eligible to enroll in health insurance earlier if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).
Certain life changes may qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period, allowing you to enroll in or change your Individual or Family health plan outside of the annual Open Enrollment period. You typically have 60 days from the date this qualifying life event occurs to enroll in or update your insurance.
Examples of life events: Log in for more detailsMy Portal
- Losing or will soon lose comprehensive health coverage
- Becoming a Maine resident
- Recently losing MaineCare (note: you have 90 days for this SEP)
- Adding a dependent (through birth, adoption, or fostering a child)
- Getting married
- Getting divorced or legally separated
These are only some of the reasons you may qualify for a special enrollment period. For a full list of qualifying life events, we recommend this document from our partners at the ACA Marketplace for Maine, CoverME.gov: Full list of Special Enrollment Period events
At Community Health Options, our purpose is simple: We provide Members with benefits they can actually use.
From the state’s broadest healthcare provider network to our Maine-based Member Services team that answers your questions instead of sending your employees down a robot rabbit hole, we focus on helping our Members get access to the care they need while working to lower out-of-pocket costs.
View our Small Group or Large Group plans
If you experience a qualifying life event, like getting married/divorced, having a baby, losing other health coverage, or moving to a new area, you may be eligible to change or buy a new plan outside Open Enrollment. This is known as a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).
Individual Members can call our Member Services team at (855) 624-6463 for help with your application, call your broker, or visit CoverME.gov if that’s where you bought your plan.
Group Members should contact their employer’s HR administrator for more information on making changes to your plan.
CoverME.gov is Maine's Health Insurance Marketplace. It is where people and small businesses in Maine can shop and buy health plans, along with finding out whether they qualify for MaineCare or financial assistance. Individuals and families can purchase a plan during annual Open Enrollment, Nov.1 through Dec. 15, or when they qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.
About 85% of enrollees qualify for financial savings. Depending on household income, household size and other factors, you could be eligible for:
- Premium tax credits to lower monthly payments
- Other savings to reduce costs when you get care
Our Member Services team is available to answer any questions and find the right plan for your unique needs: (855) 624-6463.