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Updating income and household information

Changes in your household or income may affect the cost of health coverage or the programs you qualify for. Some changes will qualify you or your dependents for a
. It's important to report changes to the Marketplace as soon as possible.

What changes should I report?

Review each change below to learn more about what you should report.

How do I report a life change?

  1. Log into your Marketplace account.
  2. Choose the application you want to update.
  3. Click "Report a Life Change" on the left-hand menu.
  4. Read through the list of changes, and click "Report a Life Change" to get started.
  5. Select the kind of change you want to report.
  6. Navigate through your application and report any changes to your income, household members, address, new health coverage offers, and other information.
  7. After you’re done, you’ll get new "Eligibility Results" that explain if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period that allows you to change plans outside the yearly Open Enrollment Period or have your coverage start sooner.
Important: Be sure to complete all steps on your To-Do list, including if you’re given the option, completing your enrollment.
If you need help, call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325).

Change in job status or change in income

Anytime you have a change in your employment or income, report it, even if you don’t think the change will impact your coverage or savings.
For example, if you start a new job that pays less, you may be able to get help with your health care costs, like a
. If you’re already getting a premium tax credit, you may qualify for a higher tax credit amount. If your tax credit amount changes, you can choose to adjust the amount of tax credit to apply to your monthly premiums after you report a change.

Gain or loss of health coverage

You’ll need to let us know of anyone who lost or gained other health coverage in the last 60 days, or who will lose or gain other coverage in the next 60 days (for any reason). Providing this information in advance may help you avoid a gap in health coverage. It could also prevent you from having more than one health plan.
Some reasons for losing health coverage include:
  • Changes to employer coverage (premiums changing or employer is no longer offering coverage)
  • Losing or leaving your job where you had group health coverage
  • Individual plan was canceled or individual plan will expire or renew in the next 60 days
  • Lost or losing coverage through a spouse or other family member (including due to death or divorce)
  • Turned or turning 26 and can no longer be on a parent’s plan
  • Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage ended or is ending
  • COBRA coverage ends
  • School coverage ends
  • Moved or moving out of your plan’s service area
You won’t be eligible for a Special Enrollment Period if you terminated your coverage, or lost coverage because you didn’t pay your premiums, unless your Marketplace plan is expiring and you decide not to re-enroll in coverage.

Gain or loss of household member

Any change in members of your household can affect how we count family size, which makes a difference in how much help you and your family can get paying for health coverage.
If you’re adding a dependent that’s your legally adopted child, choose “son/daughter” from the relationship choices, even if another relationship also applies.
Who’s a dependent?
When you file a tax return, your child, stepchild, foster child, brother, or sister (if younger) is likely to be your dependent if he or she lives with you, doesn’t provide more than half of his or her own support for the year, and is younger than 19 or a full-time student younger than 25.
What should I select?
  • Domestic partner: Select this if these 2 household members are domestic partners. Domestic partners aren’t considered married for purposes of federal law.
  • Son/daughter: Select this for biological sons and daughters, as well as legally adopted sons and daughters. For a legally adopted son or daughter, select this relationship option even if another option is also true, like grandparent or cousin.
  • Brother/sister: Select this for brothers, sisters, half-brothers, or half-sisters.
Learn more about these relationships.

Change of family relationships

If you’re updating family relationships, you’ll choose from the list provided in the application. Learn more about these relationships.
If you’re reporting an adoption, when you’re in the application, select the name of anyone who’s been adopted or placed for adoption in the last 60 days. A person is “placed for adoption” if they’re a child who’s living with a family and is in the process of being adopted.

A move out of state

When moving, you have 60 days from the date of your move to get health coverage. Learn more about what to do when moving out-of-state. If you're losing other coverage as a result of your move, you can report that loss of coverage up to 60 days in advance of your last day of coverage.

Pregnancy

Some pregnant women get extra help paying for health coverage, depending on the family’s income. If any of the women on your application become pregnant, tell us on your application and report how many babies she expects during this pregnancy. This information will help the whole household get the most help possible paying for health coverage.

Change of student status

If you're reporting a full-time student, the student may be able to get health coverage in the state where their parents live instead of the state where they go to school.

Tax filing status

Your tax filing status may affect your ability to get help paying for coverage through the premium tax credit. If you file a federal income tax return, you may be eligible for the tax credit. If you don’t file a tax return, you or your family may be eligible for other types of free or low-cost health benefits. Tell us if you plan to file your taxes so we know what you’re eligible for.
When you’re ready to update your tax filing and/or tax dependent information, please review the information carefully. You may have to make updates in more than one section of the application based on the questions that are asked.
Learn more about tax filing or claiming dependents on your federal income tax return.

Citizenship or immigration status

Learn more about making changes to citizenship or immigration status.

Status as American Indian/Alaska Native or member of a federally recognized tribe

If you’re changing the status of a household member to an American Indian/Alaska Native, or to a member of a federally recognized tribe, you’ll need to submit more information in your Marketplace account to confirm this change.
Learn more about the type of documents that you may need.

Incarceration status

If a member if your household is now being held involuntarily in a prison, jail, detention center, or police lock-up, they’re no longer eligible for certain programs in the Marketplace. But if this person is currently pending disposition, they may be able to stay on your plan if one of these applies:
  • This person is in jail but hasn’t been convicted of any crime. For example, if a judge or jury hasn’t found the person guilty of the charges, and the person hasn’t pled guilty to the charges.
  • This person is in jail because of an alleged technical violation of the terms of probation or parole, and it hasn’t yet been decided if the person will be sent to prison or kept in jail because of the technical violation.
If a member of your household was recently released from incarceration, they may be eligible for coverage and certain programs in the Marketplace.

Change in physical disability or mental health condition limiting ability to work, attend school, or take care of daily needs

A person may qualify to get more health services if he or she has special health care needs. If the person pays for care, he or she may also qualify to pay less. Learn more about special health care needs.

Contact preferences

These changes don’t affect your coverage or savings, but you still need to report them to the Marketplace and your insurance company (if you want your insurance company to know your communication preferences):
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Phone text alert status: If you decide to get phone text alerts, we’ll let you know when there’s a new notice available in your Marketplace account. Messaging rates will apply. If you choose to no longer get phone text alerts, you can either get email alerts, or get paper notices mailed to you.
  • Mailing of paper notices: To get paper notices in the mail, when you’re updating your application information, select “No” to getting electronic notices and we’ll send paper copies to the mailing address you provide.
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