“I don’t have a social security number and want to buy health insurance”

I have a free 15 minute OnlineAdviser telephone consultation scheduled this afternoon with a FreedomBenefits.net web site user who wrote “I don’t have a social security number and want to buy health insurance”. Unfortunately, there is still plenty of confusion surrounding this issue so the request is not surprising.

I expect that our conversation will clarify:

1. You do not need a social security number to buy health insurance. I can help with a work-around if you run into someone offers push-back on this issue but usually this is simply a matter of someone receiving incorrect information.
2. You do not need to be a legal resident to buy health insurance, but some options will not be available until legal status is approved. (I receive a lot of calls from individuals who have been in the immigration processing for a long time).
3. What to do next since the open enrollment season is now closed for 2016.

I’ve written more on this topic on the OnlineAdviser blog and my own blog post here that includes links Healthcare.gov resources.