Health Insurance 101: Can You Change Your Plan in the Middle of the Year?

Each year, you might participate in open enrollment and pick your health insurance plan for the next policy year. You may be wondering:

• Are you locked into that choice?

• What happens if you change jobs?

• Can you switch to your partner’s health insurance, or even add a new dependent to your policy?

• Are you allowed to change health insurance plans before the next open enrollment?

You can't change the plan you’ve chosen when your health coverage is tied to your employer, until your next open enrollment period. The one exception is if you have a qualifying life event. This means it’s important to plan ahead and pick the health insurance plan that will meet your needs for the next 12 months.

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Written by:

Hilary Weissman

Hilary Weissman has been a health writer for the past 6 years. She was a senior copywriter at WW (Weight Watchers) before joining GoodRx and was also a copy editor in S&P Global’s structured finance ratings group for 3 years prior.

Reviewed by:

Sanjai Sinha, MD

Sanjai Sinha, MD, is a board-certified physician with over 20 years of experience. He specializes in internal medicine.

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