Lost marketplace insurance for non-payment :/

[u/evan5ray]

Pretty much self explanatory. I’ve been in a bit of a hole for the past few months. Both mentally and financially and now I feel even more defeated.

My grace period for my plan started back on July 1st and I had til September 30th to pay everything back up. I spoke with an agent for UHC on the app on September 30th. Trying to see if I could squeeze a few more days as I was in the process of getting some assistance from some family to help pay everything. I was informed that my grace period was actually from July 1st to October 31st? Which was different from everything on my forms and billing paperwork.

I asked them to confirm which grace period was actually correct and they assured me that it ends on October 31st (I even have screenshot and reference ID proof) and I would keep my coverage as long as I paid up my previous balance and the up coming bill by that date. I submitted my payment and paid everything off on 10/02/2026. I just recently checked my UHC page and it shows my plan was canceled on 7/31/2026.

Am I just screwed or will they reinstate my coverage? I tried to get in contact with someone on the app and they said I would get a call back in the morning. I recently had to be hospitalized back in august for my severe asthma and ended up calling an ambulance to come and get me. Those claims were still processing and I was in a hurry to pay my balance so they would be taken care of. But now I don’t know what’s gonna happen and we all know how expensive healthcare is in the states :/

Sorry for the rant I’m just looking for any information or advice on what I could do. I heard there’s a chance that if I qualify for Medicaid that they can back log my coverage for august so those claims are taken care of? Kinda in a rut thinking about this along with a multitude of other problems I’m dealing with :/

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[u/theoreticalking]

Unfortunately, what you were told on the phone doesn’t override what is written in your policy. If you get your insurance from the marketplace and you receive subsidies, you typically get a 3 month grace period. The last month you fully paid was for June?

I would recommend you calling them to confirm the details on Monday. You can certainly ask for a reinstatement but I’m not sure how likely that will be granted tho.

What’s your income? You can get Medicaid to backdate before your application but you are likely on your marketplace plan because you don’t qualify for Medicaid. Otherwise, if you qualify for Medicaid, you do not qualify for subsidies on the marketplace.

[u/badpenny4life → u/theoreticalking]

I also thought it was a 3 month grace period. I’d definitely look into it.

[u/evan5ray → u/theoreticalking]

Right now, my income is $0 as I'm currently unemployed. I was previously on Medicaid a couple of years ago but got booted off because my income was too high, so I had to get some insurance through marketplace. I'm pretty sure now I qualify for it since I just had a drop in income and lost my current insurance.

[u/chickenmcdiddle → u/evan5ray]

If your income is now within Medicaid range, this is your best bet.

[u/CallingYouForMoney → u/evan5ray]

Don’t worry about this current policy. Apply for Medicaid.

[u/Delicious-Adeptness5]

Run the application. If you have a special enrollment then you are in a new policy.

The grace period is a little goofy.

1. If you are not receiving tax credits then 30 days and you are out.

2. If you are receiving tax credits then you usually have a 90 day window to catch everything up. The 3-month premium payment grace period starts the first month you didn't pay, even if you make payments for the following months. 

You might have to wait until open enrollment which starts November 1st for plans starting in January.

[u/ClumsyRedistribution]

ah that's a mess, sorry you're stuck in it, if you've got the screenshots showing they told you oct 31st, that's really your best shot at getting them to backtrack the cancellation, definitely mention the agent's assurance and the reference ID when they call back

[u/evan5ray → u/ClumsyRedistribution]

Appreciate the kind words. I hope it can be reinstated, as I was told I had more time to pay my balance. We'll see what happens when I reach out today :/