Health insurance in Illinois for the slightly over 20 crowd just got better.
There’s a new option for parents who want to check out health insurance in Illinois for their about-to-graduate young adults. This new law came into effect June 1, 2009, and it lets families keep young adults on their health insurance policies until they reach the age of 26 years old. This is a major step forward for health insurance in Illinois and takes care of parents’ concerns about medical coverage for their older children.
There is one important eligibility requirement that your young adult must meet to be kept on your family health insurance in Illinois, and that is they must not be married. Other than that, any young adult under the age of 26 whose parents have a health insurance policy is eligible. In addition to this, a young adult who is under the age of 30 and whose parent(s) served in the military is also eligible, provided they live in the state and are not married.
This law doesn’t apply to union plans or companies that are self-insured. If you’re in doubt about your status, check with the human resources department. Typically, the law also does not apply to insurance policies that were issued outside the state of Illinois. There is one exception though, and that is if you have coverage through an HMO with a network of physicians and hospitals in Illinois.
Getting enrolled in this program is easy. If the family has medical coverage that includes dependents, there is a 90-day enrollment period for the children when the policy is due for renewal. You might want to find out when the open enrollment period is due to speed things up a bit. Prior to open enrollment of the 90-day period, parents might need individual insurance to cover that gap or find out if they are eligible for COBRA or Illinois continuation coverage. If you have any doubt, speak to a qualified Illinois health insurance broker who has access to numerous carriers and will be able to assist you in making the right choice of insurance for your family’s needs.
Don’t miss the 90-day enrollment period. The reason for this is that an insurance company can’t exclude your children from coverage because they weren’t previously insured. In addition, once the open enrollment period is over, the insurance company may insist on continuous coverage, meaning the company will only issue a policy if someone has prior medical coverage for 90-days.
It’s best to move quickly and take advantage of this law during the first year it is in effect, as the 90-day enrollment periods are “only” available in this first year from June 1 through May 31, 2010. After that time period, you may enroll your young adult during a regular 30-day enrollment at your place of work. Be aware that the insurance company may want continuous coverage.
To find out what costs are involved or to talk about pre-existing conditions, make it a point to speak to an expert health insurance broker with lots of experience who is able to put you with a carrier without riders or exclusions if at all possible.
Randy Gillespie is with Illinois health insurance agency, Focus Insurance Group. To learn more about Illinois health insurance, Illinois health insurance quotes, Illinois group health insurance or to get an Illinois health insurance quotes, visit Focusinsgroup.com
