July 1st, 2013 – Colorado’s ”Child Only” health insurance open enrollment period begins today and ends on the 31st of July. The effective date for these Child Only plans is September 1st. The next open enrollment period for Child Only health insurance plans is in January of 2014.
If you know anyone who needs coverage for a child that is not eligible to be insured under a parent’s employer sponsored health insurance plan, let them know about this last opportunity to insure their child this year.
However, there are special “qualifying events” that allow the purchase of child-only plans outside of the open enrollment periods. Qualifying events are “birth, adoption, marriage, dissolution of marriage, loss of employer-sponsored coverage, loss of eligibility for Medicaid or Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), entry of a valid court or administrative order mandating the child have coverage, or involuntary loss of existing coverage other than because of fraud, misrepresentation or failure to pay premium.”
Please note that the timing for qualifying events is critical, as applications must be received by the insurance carrier within 30 days after a qualifying event.
Under current Federal law, insurers can not deny coverage to a child with a pre-existing condition. However, they can charge up to double the cost of the standard premium (although this should change in 2014). However, an insurance company may deny coverage if the child has access to other creditable health insurance coverage, such as a parent’s group insurance plan through an employer. All insurance carriers that sell individual health insurance policies in Colorado are required to sell child-only policies, although many only offer a single plan option.
For quotes on child-only plans please call Colorado Health Insurance Brokers at (303) 456-7967.
