Insurance Questions? We Have Straight Answers.

Most Meet Coverage clients have an active effective date within 48 hours. The fastest path is usually a marketplace plan filed under your Special Enrollment Period (SEP) — coverage can start as soon as the 1st of the following month, and a short-term bridge plan can fill any gap starting as early as tomorrow. One call with a licensed advisor maps all three paths (SEP marketplace, COBRA, bridge) side by side.

In most cases, yes — often dramatically. COBRA charges the full unsubsidized premium plus a 2% admin fee, with no income-based assistance. A marketplace plan filed under your SEP can include ACA premium tax credits that drop the monthly cost by 60–90% for typical households. We've had clients save $1,000+ per month switching off a COBRA quote to a subsidized marketplace plan with the same hospital network.

You get a 60-day Special Enrollment Period (SEP) starting the day your prior coverage ends. You can also enroll up to 60 days *before* a known loss of coverage (for example, if you've been notified your last day is in 3 weeks). After day 60, you're locked out until the next Open Enrollment in November — so the sooner you talk to an advisor, the more options stay on the table.

Usually yes — but only if we check the network before you enroll. Meet Coverage cross-references every plan we recommend against your current doctors, hospital system, and active prescriptions. We will not let you sign up for a plan that drops a doctor you depend on or a medication you take daily.

A short-term medical plan is non-ACA coverage that can start as soon as the next day and run for 30 days up to several months. It's a bridge — not a permanent solution — and it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions or maternity. It makes sense when you need *something* active tomorrow while your marketplace or new-employer plan starts on the 1st, or when you're a few weeks out from Medicare eligibility.

Most newly uninsured households do. Subsidies (premium tax credits) are based on projected household income for the year, not last year's tax return. A single person earning up to about $60,000 typically qualifies; a family of four can qualify with income up to roughly $125,000. Your advisor calculates your exact subsidy before recommending any plan — at no cost.

Adult dental and vision are almost never included in marketplace medical plans — they have to be added separately. Meet Coverage offers standalone dental from around $19/month, vision from around $12/month, or a combined bundle from about $28/month. We typically rebuild these in the same call as your medical plan so nothing falls through the cracks.

Nothing. Our service is 100% free to you. Licensed advisors are paid a flat commission by the carrier when you enroll — exactly the same amount regardless of which plan you choose, so there's no incentive to upsell. You pay the same monthly premium you'd pay enrolling directly with the carrier.

Your deductible is what you pay for covered services before insurance starts sharing the cost. Your out-of-pocket maximum is the most you can ever pay in a calendar year — once you hit it (including deductible, copays, and coinsurance), the plan pays 100% of covered in-network costs for the rest of the year. We always model both numbers against your real expected usage before recommending a plan.

A qualifying life event opens a 60-day SEP. The most common ones we handle: losing job-based coverage (layoff, quit, hours reduced), getting married or divorced, having a baby or adopting, moving to a new ZIP code or state, aging off a parent's plan at 26, or a household income change that affects subsidy eligibility. If something major just changed in your life, there's a good chance an SEP is open right now.