How Much Does It Cost To Get My Own Health Insurance? 
Health Insurance rates change from insurance company to insurance company and State to State . Each insurance company must submit rates to their respective state insurance commissioner for approval . Some companies charge higher rates for smokers . Since the ACA came into effect an insurance company can no longer deny someone due to their health . ACA also permits a person to change plans off Open Enrollment if their income increases or decreases . Some States offer State run insurance options inside a State based exchange such as Washington and some are using the new ACA Federal Site . Rates are based on age so the younger you are the less you will pay ... and some insurance companies even base rates on smoking or non-smoking , as stated above . If you are in a State that offers a State based exchange you may apply through the exchange to see if you qualify for a Tax Credit -LRB- premium reduction -RRB- and/or a Cost Sharing reduction -LRB- lower Deductible , Co-Insurance , Max OOP , or Co-pays . Or you can choose to purchase direct through an insurance company if you do not wish to receive a Tax Credit or Cost Sharing reduction . You can only apply during Open Enrollment which for most states is Nov 15 , 2014 - Feb 15 , 2015 for the 2015 tax year , UNLESS you have a Qualifying Event . 2016 tax year Open Enrollment will be Nov 7 - Dec 15th , 2015 . A Qualifying Event is something that changes your status such as a Divorce , Marriage , Adoption , Birth , Loss of Job , COBRA Ends , etc. . So , all this to say that you will need to check with your State to find rates or use my site to compare rates for your State if your State is using the Federal Exchange for 2015 . I will list my site link on here in my next post . Stay tuned ! Or contact me at 971-327-5792 requesting rate information . 