Enrollment Step by Step
See if you qualify for tax credits to help pay for insurance.
Obamacare Enrollment
Premium tax credits can only be received if you apply for health insurance through the Marketplace. In most cases this will be at HealthCare.gov. Some states have set up their own exchanges and some work in partnership with the federal government. You will find contact information for your state at Marketplace.
♦ ! Important make sure the site you visit is secure. You only want to enter personal information at a site that displays the padlock security symbol. The symbol for Healthcare.gov is 
It will appear on the address line. For most browsers, it will be in the upper left-hand corner. Newer versions of Internet Explorer display the padlock in the right-hand corner. If you do not see this lock this means the site is not secure.
→ Note: Chrome has discontinued displaying the padlock. Firefox and Edge browsers still show a padlock but it is grayed out.
The application process is not as frightening as many anti-obamacare folks say. You will be asked some very basic question about yourself and any family members you want to obtaining health insurance for.
The questions are necessary to confirm that you are who you say you are. There will be a few questions to verify that you are a citizen or an immigrant eligible to receive premium credits. Immigrant eligibility is a complicated topic. Learn more at Immigrants & Coverage.
You can also download this info in PDF form.
It lists all the eligible immigrant status and suggested document to use when completing your application for health insurance.
Words of warning
Healthcare.gov uses the consumer credit reporting company called Experian to verify your identity. They have been known to mess things up so it is best to get your application started as soon as possible.
Ensure that you have entered your personal information correctly. Being slightly off on the spelling of your name can throw everything out of whack.
You will be asked to estimate what your household's income will be for the next year. If you filed taxes last year, that would be a good place to start. Income - What Counts? goes into this topic in much greater detail.
Complete the application - sign - submit - see if you qualify for premium credits.
► A slide presentation of each step has been prepared from actual screenshots taken from HealthCare.gov. Personal information has been changed to depict a fictitious person. The site changes a little from time to time so the images might not be perfect. But the information is still valid.
