Today Is A Key Obamacare Deadline If You Want Insurance That Starts In February

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Keeping track of the deadlines to purchase coverage for the Affordable Care Act has not been easy. Luckily, today's deadline is pretty straightforward.

Originally, you had to purchase coverage by December 15 for insurance that started on January 1. Then, the administration pushed that back to December 23 with the agreement of insurers.

Then, you only had to sign up - not yet actually pay your first premium - by that date. When December 23 rolled around, the administration pushed the deadline back another day. Many insurers allowed beneficiaries to pay their first premium by January 10 - or even later in some cases - for coverage that began on January 1.

That's all behind us. Today's deadline is for coverage that starts February 1.

This is the normal deadline for purchasing coverage that begins the next month. If you purchase insurance after today (up until February 15), your coverage will start March 1.

However, if you don't buy insurance today, that doesn't subject you to the individual mandate penalty. You still have until March 31 to enroll in a plan before you must pay it. But today's still an important date if you want coverage that starts in February.