For those people who wish to purchase health insurance, now is the time.

"Open enrollment," the one time of the year that all people can buy or switch health insurance plans, began in November and runs through Feb. 15."This is the only time you can enroll or make a change to your existing coverage without having a life-changing event," said Lori Tucker, a licensed insurance agent and the owner of Lori Tucker Agency in Danielsville.She noted that people who experience a life-changing event, such as a birth, adoption, marriage, or loss of workplace insurance, will still be able to purchase a policy later in the year."Their first step is to evaluate whether their income would make them eligible for a subsidy or tax credit," she said."If eligible, I would advise that they find somebody to assist them. They will have to set up an account through the Marketplace (healthcare.gov), and then enroll in the health insurance."That can be done through the site or by calling, but it can be a confusing process."Tucker noted that if an individual or family does not qualify for an insurance subsidy or tax credit, they likely either qualify for medical assistance, or earn too much money for subsidies.In this case, it might make sense to purchase insurance through the insurance company directly and to bypass the Marketplace completely, she said."Right now, we're estimating subsidies based on what you think you will make in 2015," she said.Subsidy calculators are available on most insurance carriers' websites, and on healthcare.gov. Tucker also directs her clients toward the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation at

www.kff.org, which includes subsidy calculators and monthly cost estimates.