Updated February 28, 2015.

If you missed open enrollment on your state’s Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange, you have a few things to deal with.

First, you need to get health insurance some other way or prepare to be uninsured until the next enrollment opportunity. Next, you may face a tax penalty for the months you didn't have health insurance. You can either budget for this or try to get an exemption so you won’t owe the penalty.

How to Get Health Insurance If You Missed Obamacare Open Enrollment

If you missed open enrollment on your state’s Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange, you don’t have a lot of other options but you have a few. Here are some of your alternatives for getting health insurance.

Special enrollment period: If you have a qualifying triggering event, you may be eligible for a special enrollment period on your health insurance exchange. Special enrollment periods are usually triggered by life-events that change the size of your family or cause you to lose other health insurance.

For example, you may have a qualifying triggering event if you get married, divorced, or have a baby. If you or your spouse lose the job that provided your health insurance, your job loss may qualify as a triggering event. If you no longer qualify for Medicaid coverage because your income went up, losing your Medicaid coverage may be a qualifying triggering event.

For 2015 only, the federal exchange at HealthCare.gov will allow a short special enrollment period for those folks that didn't know about the tax penalty for being uninsured until they discovered they had to pay the tax penalty for being uninsured in 2014.

This special enrollment period is timed to coincide with tax-filing season from March 15 through April 30, 2015.

Medicaid: If you’re eligible, you can enroll in Medicaid or enroll your kids in the Children’s Health Insurance Program at any time. You don’t have to wait for open enrollment on your health insurance exchange. To be eligible for Medicaid you must meet low-income guidelines in your state. Some states require you to meet other eligibility criteria in addition to having a low income. Your kids might be eligible for CHIP even if you’re not eligible for Medicaid.

You can apply for Medicaid, learn about the eligibility criteria, and learn about low-income guidelines in your state by contacting your state’s health insurance exchange. Or, if you prefer to contact your state’s Medicaid program directly, you can look up contact information by clicking on your state at the website of the National Association of Medicaid Directors.

Job-based health insurance:If you missed Obamacare open enrollment, you’ll still be eligible for job-based health insurance when you get a job with insurance benefits. Although there’s usually a short waiting period for health insurance coverage to kick in, if you enroll when you start your new job, you won’t have to wait until your next job-based open enrollment period to sign up for health insurance.

Short-Term Health Insurance: You can enroll in short-term health insurance at any time. However, short-term policies don't provide all of the consumer protections that more comprehensive policies provide. For example, your pre-existing conditions can be excluded from coverage and the policy may have a maximum pay out limit.  Because of these limitations, a short-term policy won't satisfy the ACA's mandate to have health insurance. You'll still have to  pay the penalty for being uninsured.
The Advantages of Short-Term Health Insurance
The Shortcomings of Short-Term Health Insurance

I’m Going to Be Uninsured. What Now?

If none of the above options work for you and you’re going to be uninsured until next year’s Obamacare open enrollment, get to know your local free clinic or Community Health Center. The Affordable Care Act increased funding to Community Health Centers to help them care for folks without health insurance.

Better prepare for being uninsured using this toolkit for going without health insurance.

Will I Have to Pay a Tax Penalty for Being Uninsured?

The Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate says all legal residents of the United States have to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty called the individual shared responsibility payment. This tax penalty is a percentage of your income and is paid when you file your taxes for the year you were uninsured. The penalty is pro-rated if you were only uninsured for part of the year.

Learn more about the health insurance penalty with these resources:

9 Things to Know About the Health Insurance Penalty

How Much Is the Health Insurance Penalty for an Individual?

How Much Is the Family Health Insurance Penalty?

Can I Avoid the Health Insurance Penalty?

The individual shared responsibility payment comes with some loopholes. For example, if your income is so low that you aren’t obligated to file federal income taxes, you’re automatically exempt from the penalty. Even financial problems like being evicted from your apartment or getting a utilities cancelation notice can qualify you for a hardship exemption.

Learn about other ways to get a health insurance exemption and avoid the penalty:

How To Get a Hardship Exemption From Health Insurance

Can You Get a Health Insurance Exemption?

When Is My Next Chance to Enroll in Obamacare?

When Is Open Enrollment on Health Insurance Exchanges?