How Long Does It Take To Get Health Insurance? 
The answer will depend upon whether you are talking about group health insurance or individual health insurance . Employers have a certain degree of flexibility in establishing a waiting period before a new hire can become eligible to enroll in the company 's group plan . Under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act -LRB- ObamaCare -RRB- now in effect this waiting period should not exceed 90 calendar days from your date of hire . So , this establishes a maximum waiting period under an employer based plan but the employer can choose to have a shorter waiting period . If you are applying for individual health insurance during the open enrollment period or following a change of life status event it will depend upon when you have submitted your enrollment form . If your enrollment form is received on or before the 15th of the month your coverage should go into effect on the first of the next month -LRB- e.g. - February 10 submission would be for a March 1st effective date -RRB- . If your enrollment form is received after the 15th of the month your coverage would become effective on the first of the following month -LRB- e.g. - February 18th submission would be for an April 1st effective date -RRB- . 