District of Columbia program
Buying a plan yourself (DC Health Link)
DC Health Link is the District's marketplace for buying health insurance.
What it is
DC Health Link is the District's marketplace for buying health insurance.
DC Health Link can help you compare replacement coverage when work insurance ends. Premium help depends on income and other coverage rules. The enrollment window and the new plan's start date both matter.
Eligibility rules
- District of Columbia.
- Marketplace enrollment and help paying premiums have different rules. Existing coverage does not by itself answer either question. Outside open enrollment, the exchange checks whether a qualifying event creates a special enrollment opportunity.
What you get
- A health plan for parents or the family.
- Help with premiums when your household qualifies.
Costs and start dates
- Premiums depend on income and the selected plan. For 2026, the federal premium-tax-credit income ceiling returns to four times poverty.
- Coverage generally starts on the first of the following month after enrollment.
- Losing Medicaid may open a special enrollment opportunity through DC Health Link. The deadline depends on the event and the current exchange rules; do not assume the job-coverage-loss deadline is the same. Ask the social worker or exchange assister to confirm the last covered day, enrollment deadline and new plan’s start date.
If you decide to apply
- Ask a DC Health Link assister to compare plans using your coverage end date.
- Have income information and the names of your child's hospital, doctors, medicines and pharmacy ready.
DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority: 855-532-5465 · Official page ↗
Good to know
A lower premium does not tell you whether the plan covers your child's cancer team.
Federal background: Loss of qualifying coverage can open a marketplace enrollment window.
Official sources
“If we need a new plan, how do we compare DC Health Link options without disrupting treatment? Could you help us check the doctors, medicines, total costs and enrollment window?”
Why I’m asking: I want to avoid a gap in treatment coverage and understand the full cost of a new plan.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Apply inside the window and check the network before choosing.
Your social worker
An assister at 855-532-5465 can compare plans against your hospital.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority.
- Ask the agency
- “My employer coverage ends on this date. I need a plan that covers my child's oncology team at this hospital. Which plans include them?”
How to apply
First step: Go to dchealthlink.com or call 855-532-5465 as soon as you know the end date.
- Diary the date coverage ends and count 60 days.
- Before choosing, check that the hospital and the oncology group are in the plan.
- Apply at dchealthlink.com; the phone line is 855-532-5465.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: dchealthlink.com or 855-532-5465.
What to gather
The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.
How long: Coverage usually starts the first of the following month once you enrol.
Clock: Sixty days after losing employer coverage to enrol on DC Health Link. The window also opens as early as 60 days before the loss.
What a yes looks like
An enrolment confirmation with a start date and a card.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask whether Medicaid or the Healthy DC Plan fits instead; both are free.
Watch out
- Do not use the federal website: DC has its own.
- Check the oncology team is in the plan before you pick it.
Dates that change this
2026-01-01: For 2026 the federal premium tax credit is again limited to households at or below four times the poverty level; the temporary removal of that ceiling covered 2021 through 2025.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
A plan you can buy with help paying for it. Sixty days either side of losing job coverage.
- $60 — Days before losing employer coverage that the window opens
- $60 — Days after losing employer coverage that the window stays open
Covers: A full health plan for the family or for the parents alone
Legal protection: A special window after losing job coverage
What it costs the family: Premium depends on income and the plan chosen. Federal help with the premium is limited to four times the poverty level again for 2026.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Residency
- District of Columbia
- Other
- Anyone not on other coverage; the special window needs a qualifying event such as losing job coverage
The trap: Do not go to the federal website. DC has its own, and the number is 855-532-5465.
Where I read this
- DC Health Link — DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority, read September 10, 2026
- DC Health Link — Lost Coverage — DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority, read September 10, 2026
- DC Health Link — Can you get covered now? — DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority, read September 10, 2026
- DC Health Link — No longer eligible for Medicaid — DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority, read September 10, 2026
- DC HBX — Basic Health Plan — DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority, read September 10, 2026
- IRS — Questions and answers on the Premium Tax Credit — Internal Revenue Service, read September 10, 2026