If you live in Trenton and need your own health insurance, the official place to apply is Get Covered New Jersey, not HealthCare.gov, and you can get help doing it. New Jersey runs its own marketplace, so its deadlines are later than the national ones. This guide covers the basics for people in Trenton, Hamilton, Ewing, Lawrence, Hopewell, Robbinsville, West Windsor, Princeton, and nearby Bordentown.
This article is educational. Instant Health Help is a licensed health insurance agency, and our agent, Lobsang Rivas, is licensed in New Jersey and certified as a broker with Get Covered New Jersey. We are not Get Covered New Jersey, NJ FamilyCare, the State of New Jersey, or an insurance company. Get Covered New Jersey decides what you qualify for. We do not quote prices or name plans here. Check the official details at Get Covered New Jersey.
The short answer
- New Jersey residents apply at Get Covered New Jersey. It is the only place to get financial help with a private plan, and the same application shows whether someone may qualify for NJ FamilyCare.
- Open enrollment runs November 1 to January 31. Enroll by December 31 and coverage starts January 1. Enroll in January and it starts February 1.
- NJ FamilyCare, New Jersey’s publicly funded health program, takes applications all year.
For the full date table, read our New Jersey open enrollment guide. Here we cover what people around Trenton ask us most.
What makes New Jersey different
State savings on top of federal help. Get Covered New Jersey says the state offers its own subsidy, called New Jersey Health Plan Savings, along with federal premium tax credits, for people who qualify based on income.
New Jersey still requires coverage. The state kept a rule that residents have health coverage or make a shared responsibility payment at tax time, unless they qualify for an exemption.
Easy Enrollment on your state tax return. If you are uninsured, you can check a box on your New Jersey income tax return so Get Covered New Jersey can invite you to apply.
Live across the river in Pennsylvania?
Trenton sits on the Delaware River, and many people live on one side and work on the other. Get Covered New Jersey is only for people whose permanent home address, used for taxes, is in New Jersey. If you live in Morrisville, Yardley, or elsewhere in Pennsylvania, your marketplace is Pennie, Pennsylvania’s official marketplace. Our agent is not licensed in Pennsylvania, so we cannot help with Pennie plans. If you move to New Jersey, Get Covered New Jersey lists moving to the state as a life event that can open a Special Enrollment Period.
Common situations in Mercer County
You lost job coverage. Get Covered New Jersey says to report the change, apply, and pick a plan within 60 days of the event. Getting married, having a baby, and moving to a new coverage area within New Jersey can count too.
Your income changes. Get Covered New Jersey asks you to report income changes within 30 days. If your income goes up during the year, there is no longer a cap on how much extra premium credit you may have to pay back.
Your immigration status. Get Covered New Jersey says that starting January 1, green card holders, certain Cuban or Haitian entrants, and COFA migrants keep federal financial help, while people with work visas, student visas, asylee or refugee status, Temporary Protected Status, and some other statuses may pay more. If your household is affected, Get Covered New Jersey will contact you. We can help in English or Spanish.
You want to keep your doctors. Whether you go to a hospital in Trenton or Hamilton or a practice near Princeton, write your doctors’ names down and check each plan’s network before you choose.
Four ways to apply
Get Covered New Jersey offers these options:
- Online at Get Covered New Jersey.
- In person or by phone, with free help from a certified assister or broker.
- By phone with the Customer Call Center at 1-833-677-1010.
- By mail, with a paper application.
How we can help you enroll
Because our agent is a certified Get Covered New Jersey broker, we can go through the application with you by phone or online, compare plans with your doctors and prescriptions in mind, and help you enroll. Get Covered New Jersey says its trained professionals help people enroll at no cost, and that agents and brokers are generally paid by the insurance companies whose plans they sell and must act in your best interest. There is no extra cost to you for our help. If the application shows someone may qualify for NJ FamilyCare, the application is referred to NJ FamilyCare, and we will explain what that means. Learn more on our New Jersey health insurance help page.
What to gather before you apply
- Your home and mailing address, and birth dates for everyone applying.
- Social Security numbers, or document information for lawfully present immigrants.
- Job and income information for everyone in your tax household, like pay stubs or W-2 forms.
- Your best estimate of household income for the year you want coverage.
- Information on any health plan you have now or any job-based offer.
Turning 65?
Medicare is a federal program, and its annual enrollment runs October 15 to December 7. Get Covered New Jersey says that once you are eligible for Medicare, you can no longer get financial help with a Get Covered New Jersey plan, so plan how that coverage ends to avoid a gap. We help New Jersey residents with Medicare too, and New Jersey’s free SHIP counselors are at 1-800-792-8820.
Ready to apply?
Have your income estimate, your household details, and your doctor list nearby, and we will take it one step at a time.
Call (321) 315-0054 | agent@inshh.com
You may qualify after tax credits. Eligibility varies.
Featured photo: Trenton makes, the world takes by DearEdward, CC BY 2.0, cropped with text added.
