Most of the time, unless you have a qualifying life event, you have to wait until the annual open enrollment period to obtain or switch your health insurance. Open enrollment used to start on November 1st and end on December 15 in most states. But from the year 2022 Pennsylvania has become one of 33 states, where you have one more month of the extension period to obtain health insurance or make changes to your existing plan.

This applies to health insurance plans offered through the Health Insurance Marketplace, also known as Pennie, as well as Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans.

For those who are eligible for Medicare in Pennsylvania, there are two open enrollment periods each year. The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs from October 15th to December 7th each year, during which individuals can enroll in or make changes to Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D plans. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (OEP) runs from January 1st to March 31st each year, during which individuals can make changes to their existing Medicare Advantage plan, including switching to a different plan or switching back to Original Medicare.

It is important to note that some health insurance plans may offer a special enrollment period outside of the open enrollment period for individuals who experience a qualifying life event, such as losing their job-based health insurance, getting married, becoming parents, or moving to Pennsylvania state.
Also, short-term health insurance plans in Pennsylvania do not have the same open enrollment period. This means people might benefit from enrolling in a short-term plan at any time of year if they are facing a coverage gap.