If you need health insurance for your child, then there is good news and not-so-good news. The good news is that child-only policies are available again, as of January 2013. Carriers had discontinued these policies shortly after the Affordable Care Act was enacted. Since carriers were required to cover all children, regardless of their pre-existing health conditions, they decided to minimize their liability. Carriers decided that children could only apply with an adult family member. This changed in January — please see my post about this news that I wrote a few months ago.
The not-so-good news is that in Georgia there is a limited “open enrollment” period for children 18 and younger. This open enrollment period is during the month of January. Children can still apply for coverage at other times, but only if they lost their existing coverage due to a qualifying event in the past 30 days. A qualifying event means there was an involuntary loss of coverage. There are exceptions, but insurance companies are very strict about eligibility.
Occasionally, I get calls from people who want to drop their kids from their group plan and secure separate coverage for them. Often times, the difference in premium between coverage for employee/spouse and family is over $400 dollars — even for just one child. The same holds true for employee/child(ren) coverage — the additional premium can be staggering.
There are other options, however. A couple of carriers will offer child-only short-term major medical plans without the strict eligibility requirements. This can be a good option for folks who need to save money and don’t mind waiting until the next open enrollment period.
There are other options and factors to consider when looking for child-only health insurance, especially as we move closer to January 1, 2014. Open enrollment for the exchanges begins in October of this year. This will have a big impact on what coverage will be available for children and adults.
If you have questions about any of the changes regarding health care reform, including subsidies and anything related to exchanges, please call for advice.
Peachtree Insurance Advisors 678-236-1600
