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Your health, our purpose · Tu salud, nuestra razón
Madrinas Insurance is a licensed insurance agency serving New Jersey families by phone and video, in English and Spanish. We help with marketplace health plans through GetCoveredNJ, Medicare, dental, vision, and life insurance - at no cost to you, because the insurance carriers pay us.
We work with families in Newark, Elizabeth, Paterson, Union City, Passaic, and communities across the state. New Jersey has its own marketplace, its own state subsidy, and its own coverage requirement, and a national broker working from a template will get your quote wrong. We won’t.
Every service below is available to New Jersey residents through a licensed bilingual advisor, at no cost to you. Your premium is the same whether you enroll with us or on your own - the difference is that someone walks it with you.
Through GetCoveredNJ. We check your eligibility for premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions, compare the plans available in your county against your doctors and prescriptions, and complete the application with you - by phone or by video.
Lost a job, moved, married, had a baby, or lost Medicaid? We confirm whether you qualify to enroll outside open enrollment and get it done inside the window.
For households that need coverage outside an employer plan, on or off the marketplace.
For the self-employed and anyone who doesn’t qualify for marketplace subsidies or Medicare.
Small-business plans for owners who want to cover their employees without becoming an HR department.
Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Part D. We walk new-to-Medicare clients through their first enrollment, review the Annual Notice of Change every fall, and compare plans against your prescriptions and doctors - not just the premium.
Dental and vision. Standalone or added alongside your health plan. Life insurance, mortgage protection, and final expense. Term, whole life, and burial coverage sized to what your family actually needs - not a formula.
This is the part most agencies skip. We stay reachable for documentation requests, plan changes, renewals, denied claims, and the question in March about something you signed in December.
Over 2.5 million families have trusted us since 2013
New Jersey Health Plan Savings is the single most-missed money in this state, especially for households who assume they earn too much to qualify for anything.
We’re paid by the insurance carriers. Your premium is identical whether you enroll with us, on HealthCare.gov by yourself, or directly with a carrier.
Not a translated script - advisors who speak the language your family actually uses.
Real credentialed agents who can be held accountable, not a lead-generation form.
We don’t have a New Jersey office. Licensed New Jersey advisors serve the state by phone and video, in English and Spanish, and can complete your entire GetCoveredNJ enrollment on one call.
ACA enrollment
Open enrollment starts
Nov 1
Bilingual support always standing by to find premium tax credits.
New Jersey uses GetCoveredNJ (GetCovered.NJ.gov), the state’s own fully state-based marketplace. Residents no longer use HealthCare.gov. Enrollment timing. Open enrollment generally begins November 1, with an earlier December deadline for coverage starting January 1. New Jersey has consistently set a later closing date than most states, running into late January.
One thing to understand about that extra window: enrolling in the final stretch usually means your coverage starts later - often skipping a month. The extended deadline is a safety net, not a reason to wait. If you want coverage on January 1, work to the December deadline.
Exact dates are set by GetCoveredNJ each year. Check our enrollment deadlines page, call us, or visit GetCovered.NJ.gov. Outside open enrollment you need a qualifying life event - losing job-based coverage, marriage, divorce, a new baby, adoption, a permanent move, aging off a parent’s plan. That typically opens a 60-day window.
Most states dropped the coverage requirement when the federal penalty went to zero. New Jersey didn’t.
Residents must carry minimum essential coverage or pay a Shared Responsibility Payment on their state tax return. New Jersey is one of only a handful of states where going uninsured has a direct tax consequence - worth knowing before you decide to skip a year to save money, because skipping frequently doesn’t save what people expect.
The federal premium tax credit lowers what you pay monthly, and the large majority of GetCoveredNJ enrollees qualify for financial help of some kind. Eligibility and amount depend on income, household size, ages, and county.
Cost-sharing reductions are a separate benefit on Silver plans for lower-income households, reducing your deductible and copays rather than your premium. They’re frequently worth more than the premium savings.
New Jersey Health Plan Savings (NJHPS) is the piece people don’t know about. New Jersey layers its own state-funded subsidy on top of the federal credit, and it reaches considerably higher incomes than the federal cutoff.
Why that matters: above a certain income the federal premium tax credit phases out entirely. In New Jersey, households in that higher band frequently still qualify for state help. If you looked at a renewal notice, saw an unsubsidized price, and concluded you earn too much for any assistance - in New Jersey you may simply be wrong.
New Jersey also operates a reinsurance program that holds premiums lower than they would otherwise be. That’s help you receive without applying for anything.
Income thresholds and funding levels for NJHPS are set by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance and reviewed annually, so we don’t publish figures here. What we do is check federal and state help together, which most quoting tools don’t.
Medicare runs on a completely separate calendar from ACA coverage.
| Window | When | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Enrollment Period | October 15 – December 7, every year | Change your Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the following year |
| Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment | January 1 – March 31 | Already in an MA plan? One change allowed |
| Initial Enrollment Period | The 7 months around your 65th birthday | Your first Medicare enrollment |
| General Enrollment Period | January 1 – March 31 | If you missed signing up for Part A or B |
| Medigap open enrollment | The 6 months starting when your Part B begins | The only window where a Supplement cannot decline you for health reasons |
Read the Annual Notice of Change your plan mails each fall - costs, formularies, and networks change annually.
Two things worth knowing before you call.
Your Medigap open enrollment window is six months, starts when Part B begins, and doesn’t repeat - outside it, a Supplement can decline you or charge more for your health, so call before you turn 65, not after.
The Annual Notice of Change your plan mails each fall; costs, formularies, and networks change every year. Guaranteed-issue rights and the Medicare Advantage trial right are explained on our Medicare page.
Free, unbiased Medicare counseling is also available in New Jersey through New Jersey SHIP (the State Health Insurance Assistance Program), run by the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of Aging Services.
We mention New Jersey SHIP because it’s genuinely useful, even though it’s technically competition.
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent [number] organizations which offer [number] products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program to get information on all of your options.
New Jersey has adopted ACA Medicaid expansion, so there is no coverage gap here. Below the Medicaid threshold you qualify for NJ FamilyCare; above it you qualify for subsidized GetCoveredNJ coverage. Every New Jersey resident has a path to coverage, which is not true in several states we serve.
NJ FamilyCare is the umbrella program covering both Medicaid and CHIP. Adults qualify up to the expansion threshold; children qualify at substantially higher income levels. Applications are accepted year-round, not only during open enrollment.
A note on Medicaid paperwork. Federal and state Medicaid rules - including documentation and eligibility verification requirements - have been changing. Keep your income and contact information current with NJ FamilyCare and read everything the state sends you. Most coverage losses come from paperwork problems rather than from people actually being ineligible. If you receive a notice that doesn’t make sense, call us before the deadline printed on it. That’s free.
New Jersey has one of the densest Latino populations in the country. In cities like Union City and Passaic, most residents are Hispanic. Newark has the largest absolute Hispanic population in the state. Nationally, Hispanic residents go without health coverage at close to three times the rate of white residents.
Every Madrina is bilingual, and that’s why.
Madrinas Insurance operates as a licensed insurance agency, Living Secure Insurance Advisors, LLC, NPN 16780309, licensed to transact insurance business in New Jersey. License details are available on request and verifiable through the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.
Find answers to common health coverage questions. Clear, straightforward explanations from our expert team.
We care, you count · Tu salud, nuestra razón
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