Reminder: Don’t forget to pay your first month’s premium for health insurance
Published on December 18, 2015
If you enrolled in or changed Marketplace health plans by December 17, 2015, your coverage will start January 1, 2016.
Important: After you’ve picked a new plan for 2016, you must complete one very important task to finish enrolling — you must pay your first month’s premium to your insurance company, not HealthCare.gov.
If you picked a new plan or enrolled for the first time and already paid your first month’s premium, your enrollment is complete. If you haven’t paid it yet, don’t delay.
Final step: Pay your premium to complete your enrollment
You must pay your first month’s premium by your health plan’s due date or you could lose your coverage. Each insurer is different, so pay careful attention to their due date.
You may be able to pay online. After you enroll in a plan at HealthCare.gov, you’ll be taken to your Enroll-To-Do list. If you see a green button that says “PAY FOR HEALTH PLAN,” your insurer accepts online payment. You’ll be taken to their payment portal when you click it.
![Screen shot of Enroll-To-Do-List displaying the "Pay for your health plan" button.](https://public4.pagefreezer.com:443/content/CMS.Healthcare/02-05-2022T22:26/https://www.healthcare.gov/assets/learn/static/en/blog-complete-your-enrollment/510/blog-complete-your-enrollment.png)
If the button is grayed out, your insurer doesn’t accept online payment. Your insurer will contact you within a few days after you enroll with next steps and details on how to pay.
Need help?
- If you’re not sure you’ve successfully enrolled or paid your premium, contact your insurance company.
- Learn more about how to complete your enrollment.