Welcoming a new member to your family is one of life’s most rewarding and fulfilling experiences. Whether you are adopting a new baby or an older child, adoption is treated as a “qualifying life event” that allows you to purchase health insurance. A qualifying life event triggers a special enrollment period that allows you to put health insurance in place for your new family member without waiting for the annual open enrollment period.
Verifying Eligibility for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP)
You may need to submit documents to prove eligibility to enroll your adopted child during the special enrollment period. You will be required to submit the legal adoption documents for your child. You will have 60 days from the date of adoption to enroll your child and add them to your health insurance. If you miss the 60-day deadline, you must wait until the open enrollment period.
Adding an Adopted Child to Your Current Health Insurance
Your health insurance provider must cover an adopted child, just like they are for biological children. Under the HIPAA act of 1996, the insurance company cannot deny the child health insurance due to any preexisting condition. To ensure your new family member is covered by health insurance, keep a file of the official documents regarding the adoption to submit when applying for health insurance. If you have adopted a child from another country, you may be required to present the immigration documents and the adoption documents.
Every adoption and every child is unique. If you are adopting a child, you want to ensure they have health insurance. To make the process easier, call on one of our local agents to help you with the process. Ensure you arrange health insurance within the time window that allows you to take advantage of the special enrollment period, whether your child is a baby, toddler, or older child. The special enrollment period expires after 60 days. We will guide you through the entire process so that your child gains all the benefits of your health insurance plan.
Your New Family: The Health Insurance Your Child Needs
Most adoptive parents have health insurance and need to add the child to the policy. This process is relatively simple to complete. Our agent will work with you to add your new child to your existing policy. You can expect your premiums to be somewhat higher when you add a dependent to your policy. Under federal law, any health insurance company must cover adopted children without any restrictions associated with preexisting health conditions and must do so as soon as the family assumes the financial responsibility for the child – the legal criteria in the federal statute.
State laws vary slightly, but you can expect to be able to add your child to a health insurance plan through your employer without any problems. If you are self-employed or have an individual plan, the process will vary, and our local health insurance agent can help you find the best plan for you and your growing family.