Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Maryland program

Buy a plan after losing coverage (Maryland Health Connection)

Maryland's marketplace for buying health insurance. Losing coverage can open a limited window to choose a plan.

What it is

Maryland's marketplace for buying health insurance. Losing coverage can open a limited window to choose a plan.

A coverage change can make a marketplace plan worth comparing with continuation of the old plan. Financial help depends on the marketplace's rules. A plan's price only tells part of the story when your child needs a particular cancer team.

Eligibility rules
  • You must live in Maryland and meet a qualifying-event or other enrollment rule.
  • For 2026, the federal premium tax credit income range is 100%–400% of poverty, subject to the remaining eligibility rules.
What you get
  • A choice of health plans, with a federal premium tax credit for eligible families.
  • A special enrollment window after qualifying coverage loss.
What the help covers
  • The plan you buy sets its own premium, deductible and cost sharing. A tax credit reduces an eligible family's premium rather than paying every treatment bill.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask a Maryland Health Connection assister to compare options using the exact date your coverage ends.
  2. Have the cancer team's names, hospital, pharmacy and medicines ready for a plan-by-plan coverage check.
  3. If you choose a plan, ask the assister to explain its start date and first payment.

Maryland Health Benefit Exchange · 1-855-642-8572 · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • The 90-day window applies after loss of Medicaid or MCHP. Other listed qualifying events, including job coverage loss, have a 60-day window.
Good to know

A cheaper premium can come with a different cancer-care network. Continuation coverage and marketplace coverage need a side-by-side cost comparison.

Other details
  • Maryland Health Connection can confirm which state premium assistance is open for your enrollment date. Your assister can check your annual income estimate and existing coverage before you rely on help.
  • Your child's Medical Assistance does not establish whether the adults have health coverage. The enrollment counselor can check their needs separately.

Federal background: Marketplace special enrollment.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“If our insurance changes, which marketplace plans include our child's cancer team? Could you help compare the costs and drawbacks with keeping the old plan, and explain the deadline before we choose?”

Why I’m asking: I want to avoid a gap in treatment coverage or a plan that leaves our team out.

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

Enrol inside the window and check the oncology network before you choose.

Your social worker

The hospital financial counselor can tell you which marketplace plans the oncology group takes.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange.
Ask your social worker
“Our coverage ends on this date. Which Maryland Health Connection plans include this hospital and our oncology group, and how long do we have to enrol?”

How to apply

First step: Go to marylandhealthconnection.gov or call 1-855-642-8572 as soon as you know the end date.

  1. Check the exact date the old coverage ends and count the window from there.
  2. Before buying, check the hospital and the oncology group are in the plan's network.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Enrol at marylandhealthconnection.gov or call 1-855-642-8572.

What to gather

  • The letter giving the date coverage ends
  • Household income for the coming year
  • The oncology group's name, to check the network

How long: Enrolment is immediate; coverage usually starts the first of the following month.

Clock: Ninety days from losing Medical Assistance or MCHP to choose a plan.

Clock: Sixty days from a listed life event such as losing job coverage.

What a yes looks like

A plan with a start date that leaves no gap, and the oncology group in network.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the window has closed, ask whether Medical Assistance covers the child instead and whether the loss date was recorded correctly.

Watch out

  • Ninety days after a Medicaid or MCHP loss, sixty for other events. The state's own page gives the shorter figure for everything; the longer one is federal and it is the one that applies to a Medicaid loss.
  • Check the oncology group is in the plan before buying. A cheaper plan that drops your team is not cheaper.
  • State Premium Assistance is closed to anyone enrolling after April 1, 2026.

Dates that change this

2026-04-01: Maryland says people who enrol after April 1, 2026 will not receive State Premium Assistance. Do not count on it for a new enrolment.

2026-01-01: The enhanced federal premium tax credits have ended and the 400 percent of poverty ceiling is back for 2026.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

A plan for the family with a federal tax credit up to 400 percent of the poverty level for 2026. Ninety days to enrol after losing Medicaid or MCHP; sixty days for the other listed life events.

  • $90 — Days to choose a plan after losing Medicaid or CHIP coverage
  • $60 — Days to enrol after the other listed life events, per the state page
  • $400/year — Upper income restriction on the 2026 federal premium tax credit

Covers: Private health plans with a tax credit applied at purchase

Legal protection: A special enrolment window after a qualifying loss of coverage

What it costs the family: Premiums and cost sharing depend on the plan and the tax credit.

The eligibility facts, as published

Residency
Maryland
Trigger
A qualifying life event, including losing job coverage or becoming ineligible for Medical Assistance or MCHP
Income
A federal tax credit runs from 100% to 400% FPL for 2026

The trap: The state's own page says 60 days for the listed life events. For losing Medicaid or CHIP specifically, federal rules give 90 days from the triggering event, and that has been mandatory since January 1, 2024. Use the longer window for a Medicaid loss, and do not rely on it for a job-coverage loss.

Where I read this

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