Perhaps you’ve been thinking about adopting some new healthy habits, and you’re wondering how you could bring the rest of the family along as you implement these lifestyle changes. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can help your whole household get healthier! And by finding the perfect family health insurance policy with the help of insurance broker Chris Goodbaudy, you can ensure that you’ll all have the coverage you need. Here’s how to encourage your whole family to focus on healthy living together!
 
Consider a Career Change
 
Do you feel like you’re always bringing home stress from your job? When one family member is unhappy at work, it can affect the mood of their entire household. If you’ve found that your job is no longer fulfilling, it may be time to switch careers to benefit your mental health.
 
You might be worried that trying to earn the qualifications you need to enter a new field would be too time-consuming when you have family obligations. But by choosing an online degree program, you’ll be able to complete your coursework while working at your current job and caring for your family. For instance, you could earn your bachelor’s or master’s degree in criminal justice while studying from the comfort of your home! This could lead you to a career in corrections, security, or even public administration. Make sure to choose an accredited online program with affordable tuition rates.
 
Cook Healthy Meals Together
 
Teaching your children to cook can be very rewarding. By making it a priority to sit down for a home-cooked family dinner on most nights, you can show your children how to cook your favorite recipes. To introduce your kids to cooking, Scary Mommy recommends starting with very basic recipes, like making sandwiches, cooking eggs, or even whipping up simple frozen banana ice cream! You can also show them how to properly clean up after cooking and talk to them about food safety. Alternatively, you can start meal prepping to simplify your weeknight routine.
 
Make Exercise a Habit
 
Exercising as a family can be a great way to get fit, make memories, and help your kids develop a passion for sports! But what forms of exercise are best for families? After all, you’ll want to choose age-appropriate activities - younger children won’t be able to lift weights or run several miles. Wellness Mama recommends going for long walks, jumping rope, having family dance parties, trying kid-friendly fitness classes, or even having fun on roller blades!
 
Stick to a Family Bedtime
 
What if your family always seems to stay up late? Implementing a specific family bedtime can help remedy this issue. Choose a bedtime, and then decide on a routine that will help your family relax while making sure that your kids take care of everything they need to do before bed, like brushing their teeth or packing up their bags for school the next day. Naturally, it can take a couple of weeks to adjust to this new routine, so be patient with your kids during this time period.
 
Choose the Right Health Insurance
 
Above all, it’s crucial to make sure that your family is enrolled in a comprehensive health insurance plan. Finding a plan that fits your budget and provides coverage for the care that your family needs can be complicated. If you’re conflicted about which plan to choose, it never hurts to contact an insurance broker with your questions.
 
By focusing on healthy changes together, you and your family members will be able to support each other on the path to self-improvement. In fact, these activities can be a lot of fun! If you’d like to help your family feel happier and healthier, you can start implementing some of these suggestions in your household.
 
Looking for the best health insurance policy for your family? Seek guidance from licensed insurance broker Chris Goodbaudy! Call (800) 969-2851 today to get started.
 
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Now that open enrollment for health insurance is over, people want to know what will qualify them for a special enrollment period. Meaning what are the events that may come up for me that will allow me to make changes to my health insurance plan.


Here is a handy chart that outlines when members can make changes to their health insurance plans:
QUALIFYING LIFE EVENT 
OPTIONS


CHANGE IN FAMILY SIZE 
Marriage

• You may enroll in new coverage for you and/or your spouse.
• You may change your coverage to add new dependents.
• You may cancel coverage if you become covered by your spouse’s plan.

Dissolution of marriage
(includes divorce, annulment and legal separation)

• You may enroll in new coverage if you lost your coverage in the separation.
• You may change coverage if your dependents lost coverage in the separation.
• You must remove your former spouse from your policy.
• You may not remove dependents from your policy unless they become covered by your former spouse’s policy.

Death of spouse

• You may remove your spouse from your coverage.
• You may enroll in new coverage if the death caused you to lose your coverage.
• You may change your coverage to include dependents who lost coverage due to the death.

Birth/Adoption/Placement for adoption

• You may enroll yourself, your spouse and your dependents.
• You may change your plan to reflect the new size of your family.
• You may cancel coverage if you become covered by your spouse’s plan.
• Newborn added during SEP has coverage from day of birth applied retroactively.

Pregnancy
(New York only)

• You may enroll in coverage as of the first month of pregnancy.

Dependent moves to own policy

• You may remove a dependent from your policy.

Dependent becomes ineligible at age 26

• You may remove a dependent from your policy.

Dependent’s  death

• You may cancel enrollment for the deceased dependent.

CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Job change within the same organization
(includes promotion, demotion and transfer)

• You may change coverage if your current plan is no longer available to you in your new position.

Loss of employment

• You will be insured through the end of the month.
• You may continue your employee coverage through COBRA at your own expense for 18 months.
• You may enroll in your spouse’s health plan, if available.

Loss of full-time status
(30-39 hours per week)

• No change is permitted.

Loss of full-time status 
(20-29 hours per week)

• You may cancel coverage for yourself and family members.
• You may change your coverage.

Loss of full-time status
(0-19 hours per week)

• If your employer does not provide insurance for part-time employees at this level, you coverage will lapse at the end of the month.
• You may continue your employee coverage through COBRA at your own expense for 18 months.

Newly benefit-eligible

• You may obtain new coverage for yourself and for your family members.

Part-time to full-time

• You may obtain new coverage for yourself and for your family members.

Spouse loses employment

• You may enroll yourself and eligible family members in a plan if the job loss caused you and your dependents to lose insurance.
• You may change your plan if you’re adding dependents that lost coverage.

Spouse becomes employed

• You may cancel your coverage if you or your dependents become covered under the spouse’s new plan.

Spouse’s employment status changes

• You may enroll in a plan if the change caused you or your dependents to lose insurance.
• You may add dependents to your plan if the change caused dependents to lose insurance.
• You may change or cancel your plan if the change causes the spouse’s insurance to be a better option for you or your dependents.

Retirement
(with no retiree health benefits from former employer)

• Coverage will cease at the end of the month.
• You may enroll in Medicare, if eligible.
• You may continue your employee coverage through COBRA at your own expense for 18 months.
• You may enroll in a Marketplace or individual health insurance plan.

Spouse loses traditional or retiree coverage

• You may add your spouse to your coverage.
• You may change your health plan.

Begin unpaid leave from work
(30+ days)

• You may change your coverage.
• You may cancel your coverage.

Return from unpaid leave
(30+ days)

• You may change your coverage.

Return from military leave

• You may enroll yourself, spouse and dependents to your coverage.
• You may change your health plan.

CHANGE IN RESIDENCE
Change of residence

• You may cancel coverage if you, your spouse or a dependent has become ineligible for your insurance due to a move.
• You may change coverage if you, your spouse or a dependent has become eligible for your insurance due to a move.
• You may add or change coverage if you or a dependent have become ineligible for your spouse’s insurance due to a move.

MEDICARE or MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY
Become eligible for  Medicare or Medicaid

• You may cancel private coverage for the person who has enrolled in Medicare.

Lose eligibility for Medicare or Medicaid

• You may add coverage for the affected family member.

OTHER
Court order

• You may add, change or suspend coverage if a court order or other official decree requires it.

Significant coverage changes

• You may change plans if services are drastically curtailed; for instance, if a large health network opts to stop accepting your insurance.

Changes in your income that affect the coverage for which you qualify (Marketplace plan)

• You may make changes to current coverage plan.

Become a U.S. citizen (Marketplace plan)

• You may enroll in coverage.

Leaving incarceration - prison or jail
(Marketplace plan or with private insurer)

• You may enroll in coverage.

Survivor of domestic abuse/violence or spousal abandonment
(Marketplace plan)

• Enroll yourself and your dependents in your own health plan separate from your abuser or abandoner. (If you are married to abuser/abandoner, you can list “unmarried” without penalty for mis-stating your marital status.)

Had a serious medical condition or natural disaster that kept you from enrolling
(Marketplace plan)

• Can enroll you and dependents in health plan if unexpected hospitalization, temporary cognitive disability or natural disaster (e.g. earthquake) kept you from enrolling.

WHO DOESN’T NEED A QUALIFYING EVENT?

Medicaid enrollment

• No limited enrollment period. If you qualify, you can apply at any time and coverage will begin immediately.

CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) enrollment

• No limited enrollment period. If you qualify, you can apply at any time and coverage will begin immediately.

American Indians & Alaska Natives
(Marketplace plans)

• Under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, American Indians can enroll anytime during the year.

*OregonHealthCare.us works to keep an updated and comprehensive list; however, the special enrollment chart shown may not apply to every benefit plan (especially dental and group life insurance that may be included in your workplace plan) and individual circumstances should be verified with your health insurance administrator.