I’m confused--do I have health insurance or not?

December was a very busy – and confusing – month for consumers who tried to sign up for health insurance through the Washington Healthplanfinder.

Ultimately, consumers had a deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 23 to, at a minimum, create an account in the Healtplanfinder. If you are one of those people, you have until Jan. 15 to complete an application, select a plan and pay the first month’s premium for coverage that will back-date to Jan. 1. For more information, refer to the Healthplanfinder’s frequently asked questions about retroactive enrollment.

If you did not meet the Dec. 23 deadline and you still need insurance, you have until Jan. 23 to select a plan and pay for it to have coverage effective Feb. 1.

Open enrollment for 2014 coverage ends on March 31. People eligible for Medicaid will be able to enroll through the Washington Healthplanfinder all year.

You can read more guidance from Washington’s Health Benefit Exchange in its Dec. 30 news release.