The latest on child-only health insurance
Parents, listen up: Maybe you’re overwhelmed by all the news about health care reform and repeals, but I can’t stress enough how important it is that everyone in your family have health insurance—including your kids.
Some of you may benefit from the new health care law that allows you to keep kids on your plan up to age 26. But if your employer’s health insurance plan doesn’t cover dependents, or other circumstances prevent them from being covered, you still need to insure your kids. Fortunately, there’s a solution: child-only health insurance.
But it comes with some complications. Child-only policies (for kids 18 and under) have been in the news lately because of health care reform, which mandates that insurers can no longer deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions. Seems like little Johnny with asthma would be a shoo-in for coverage, right?
Wrong. Instead, insurance companies are trying to skirt the new rule. The loophole: The new health care law says insurers can’t turn kids away, but it doesn’t say they must offer child-only policies. Being forced to offer policies to everyone, whether they’re sick or healthy, is a big financial risk for insurers—and it’s a risk many of them don’t want to take.
Some states are trying to find ways to persuade insurers to get on board with child policies. And as luck would have it, each state has its own rules, making the situation more complex still. Here’s a rundown:
- 14 states (and Washington, DC) are enforcing open enrollment periods, specific times of year when parents can sign up their children. The goal is to encourage parents to enroll kids when they’re healthy, which minimizes risk for insurance companies—so they’ll be inclined to continue offering the policies. Open enrollment dates vary; some end in February or March, and other states offer a summer period, too. (Check the open enrollment dates for your state.)
- 5 states have “guaranteed issue” enrollment, including New York, New Jersey, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. This means getting a child-only policy is guaranteed year-round. However, many insurance carriers purposely don’t offer child-only plans in those states to avoid taking on the added risk—and those that do charge high prices—so good luck finding a policy.
- 20 states no longer offer child-only policies. In those locations, insurance providers cut down on risk by simply removing child-only policies from their offerings. (See where your state falls.)
For now, we unfortunately just have to wait and see how this situation will shake out. I’ll keep you posted as I find out more, but please feel free to email me with any questions.
Would you consider child-only insurance? Have you faced any issues in trying to get it?