If you live in Camden and buy your own health insurance, you apply at Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official marketplace, not HealthCare.gov. That is true across South Jersey, from Camden, Cherry Hill, Pennsauken, Collingswood, Haddonfield, Gloucester City, Audubon, Bellmawr, Voorhees, and Lindenwold to nearby Gloucester and Burlington County.
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. We do not quote prices or name plans here, and what you qualify for depends on your income, household, and address.
The short answer
- Open enrollment runs November 1 to January 31. Enroll by December 31 for coverage starting January 1. Enroll in January and coverage starts February 1.
- NJ FamilyCare is New Jersey’s publicly funded health insurance program, and you can enroll outside open enrollment if you qualify.
- Your home address decides where you apply, even if you work across the river.
For the full step by step, read our New Jersey open enrollment guide. Here we focus on what we hear most from people around Camden.
Live in Camden, work in Philadelphia?
Thousands of people cross the Ben Franklin Bridge or ride into Center City every day. Get Covered New Jersey says that to shop there, you must have a primary residence in New Jersey and a New Jersey address that is used for tax purposes and is the permanent home of everyone on your application. So if you live in New Jersey, you apply at Get Covered New Jersey, no matter where your job is.
If you live in Pennsylvania, your state’s marketplace is Pennie, not Get Covered New Jersey or HealthCare.gov. Our agent is not licensed in Pennsylvania, so use the official Pennie website for help there.
If your Philadelphia job offers health insurance, that offer can affect whether you qualify for financial help, so bring the details when you apply.
NJ FamilyCare first, if your income is lower
NJ FamilyCare includes CHIP, Medicaid, and Medicaid expansion coverage. Get Covered New Jersey says you can enroll outside open enrollment if you qualify for NJ FamilyCare, and NJ FamilyCare says children under 19 may apply regardless of their immigration status, while all other rules still apply. NJ FamilyCare also notes that the rules to qualify are changing this fall, so read any letter you get. Call NJ FamilyCare at 1-800-701-0710 (TTY 711) or visit NJ FamilyCare.
Three kinds of financial help
Get Covered New Jersey lists three kinds of help: federal advance premium tax credits, cost-sharing reductions, and New Jersey Health Plan Savings, a state subsidy. The tax credits and the state subsidy lower your monthly premium. Cost-sharing reductions lower costs like deductibles and copays, and they come only with Silver plans, for incomes up to 250% of the poverty level.
Federal premium tax credits are generally available to households earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. Above 400%, the federal credit generally isn’t available. Your savings are based on what you expect to earn next year, not last year. If your income goes up during the year, report it right away. There’s no longer a cap on how much extra premium credit you may have to pay back.
New Jersey’s coverage requirement
New Jersey has its own rule. The state Treasury says the New Jersey Health Insurance Market Preservation Act requires most residents to keep health coverage, qualify for an exemption, or make a Shared Responsibility Payment when they file a New Jersey income tax return. If you are not required to file a resident New Jersey return, the payment does not apply. Details are on the NJ Health Insurance Mandate page.
Lost job coverage?
Get Covered New Jersey lists loss of coverage through an employer, Medicaid, or NJ FamilyCare as a qualifying life event for a Special Enrollment Period, along with moving to New Jersey, marriage, a new baby, and others. So you do not always have to wait for November. See the Get Covered New Jersey FAQ.
Doctors and hospitals
If you want to keep a doctor at a hospital in downtown Camden, in Cherry Hill, or in Voorhees, or at a clinic in Pennsauken, write their names down before you compare plans. If you see a doctor in Philadelphia, check whether that office is in the plan’s network too. Each plan has its own network, so confirm with the plan and the office before you enroll.
How we help you enroll
Our agent is certified as a broker with Get Covered New Jersey, so we can go through the application with you, compare plans with your doctors and prescriptions in mind, and help you enroll, at no extra cost to you for our help. We are not Get Covered New Jersey, and Get Covered New Jersey decides what you qualify for. We help by phone and online, in English or Spanish. See our New Jersey health insurance help page.
What to gather before November 1
- Names and birth dates for everyone on your tax return.
- Your household income estimate for next year.
- Details of any job-based coverage offered to anyone in your household, including a Philadelphia employer.
- Your current Get Covered New Jersey login, if you have one.
- Your doctors and prescriptions.
Ready when you are
Have your income estimate and your doctor list handy, 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: Benjamin Franklin Bridge from Camden, NJ by rocky8u, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped with text added.
