Health Insurance for Children in 2012: eHealthInsurance Publishes Updated Data on Open Enrollment Periods and Product Availability
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, Jan 25, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --Today eHealthInsurance (NASDAQ: EHTH), the leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses, released an updated list of open enrollment periods for child-only individual health insurance plans in states where information was available.
"Child-only" plans are individual health insurance policies made available to children age 18 and under with no parent or guardian listed on the same policy. The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act prevents insurers from declining health insurance applications for children due to pre-existing medical conditions. However, concern that parents could delay purchasing coverage for children until they got sick led some health insurance companies to stop offering child-only plans in a number of states.
In response, certain states and insurance companies have designated "open enrollment" periods for child-only plans -- specific annual or biannual enrollment windows when parents or guardians can enroll children in their own individual health insurance plans without danger of being declined due to their medical history.
The state-by-state summary below represents a snapshot of current rules and processes governing child-only health insurance in select states. This document is not a comprehensive review of every state's plan for compliance with the federal health reform law. Please refer to individual state departments of insurance for additional information.
Availability of Child-only Health Insurance in 2012
STATE OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIODS AND CONDITIONS
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Arkansas Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company
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California Open enrollment occurs during child's birth month --
Applications submitted at other times may be approved
with a higher premium due to pre-existing conditions
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Colorado Open enrollment occurs in January and July 2012
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Connecticut Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company
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Delaware Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company
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District of Columbia Insurers offering child-only plans may hold January or
July open enrollment
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Hawaii Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company
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Idaho Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company
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Iowa Open enrollment occurs July 1 through August 14, 2012
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Illinois Open enrollment occurs in January and July 2012
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Kansas Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company and by locale
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Kentucky Open enrollment occurs in January 2012
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Maine Child-only policies available all year long
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Maryland Open enrollment in January and July 2012
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Massachusetts Open enrollment occurs from July 1 through August 15,
2012
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Missouri Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company and by locale
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Montana Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company
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New Hampshire Availability of child-only plans may vary by insurance
company
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New Jersey Child-only policies available all year long
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New Mexico Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company
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New York Child-only policies available all year long
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Ohio Open enrollment occurs in March 2012
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Oklahoma Open enrollment from January 1 - February 29, 2012 and
from July 1 - July 31, 2012
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Oregon Child-only policies available all year long
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South Dakota Open enrollment from July 1 through August 15, 2012
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Utah Availability of child-only plans and enrollment periods
may vary by insurance company -- A certificate of
insurability is required and can be obtained by
applying and being denied coverage under the state's
high-risk pool, HIPUtah*
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Vermont Child-only policies available all year long
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Washington Open enrollment from March 15 - April 30, 2012 and
September 15 to October 31, 2012
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States were included in the chart above when eHealthInsurance was able to obtain information indicating that there was at least one health insurer in the state offering major-medical child-only coverage in at least some circumstances. This is not a complete analysis of the child-only market, however, and rules and conditions in any specific state may be subject to change.
While the data collected above provides some guidance for consumers in states where child-only coverage is available, rules affecting consumers in specific states and with specific health insurance companies may vary.
-- In some states, child-only health insurance plans may be obtained
through licensed agents while in other states they may only be
obtained by applying directly through the health insurance company.
-- A qualifying event (such as birth or adoption, the death of a parent,
the loss of employer-sponsored coverage, etc) may be required in some
states in order to qualify for child-only health insurance outside an
open enrollment period.
-- Some states allow insurers to charge child-only applicants with
pre-existing medical conditions higher rates than those without
pre-existing medical conditions.
-- Insurance companies in some states may be allowed to add a surcharge
to the monthly premium for applicants who were previously uninsured.
-- In some states, insurers have opted on their own to accept child-only
applications year-round while others may choose not to offer
child-only policies at all.
To learn more about the status and availability of child-only health insurance plans in your area, contact a licensed health insurance agent or your state department of insurance.
Notes: * To learn more about obtaining a certification of insurability in the state of Utah, visit the Utah Insurance Department website: http://www.insurance.utah.gov/hiputah/index.html
Additional Consumer Resources:
-- Download or request a FREE printed copy of our book, Individual Health
Insurance For Dummies, Health Care Reform Special Edition, produced in
cooperation with For Dummies(R), a branded imprint of Wiley, and
co-authored by eHealthInsurance
-- Follow eHealthInsurance's consumer blog, Get Smart - Get Covered
-- Watch educational health insurance videos from eHealthInsurance on
YouTube
-- Browse our answers to real-life health insurance questions on Yahoo
Answers
-- Follow eHealthInsurance on Facebook and Twitter
About eHealth eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) is the parent company of eHealthInsurance, the nation's leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses. Through the company's website, www.eHealthInsurance.com, consumers can get quotes from leading health insurance carriers, compare plans side by side, and apply for and purchase health insurance. eHealthInsurance offers thousands of individual, family and small business health plans underwritten by more than 180 of the nation's leading health insurance companies. eHealthInsurance is licensed to sell health insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, making it the ideal model of a successful, high-functioning health insurance exchange. Through the company's eHealthTechnology solution (www.eHealthTechnology.com), eHealth is also a leading provider of health insurance exchange technology. eHealthTechnology's exchange platform provides a suite of hosted e-commerce solutions that enable health plan providers, resellers and government entities to market and distribute products online. eHealth, Inc. also provides powerful online and pharmacy-based tools to help seniors navigate Medicare health insurance options, choose the right plan and enroll in select plans online through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PlanPrescriber.com (www.planprescriber.com) and through its Medicare website www.eHealthMedicare.com.
For more health insurance news and information, visit the eHealthInsurance consumer blog: Get Smart - Get Covered.
For media inquiries, please contact: Sande Drew eHealth, Inc. (916) 207-7674 sande.drew@ehealth.com Kris Kraves Cogenta Communications (805) 527-7733 - direct kris@cogentacom.com
SOURCE: eHealthInsurance