Penguin Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) Our oldest son is on our health insurance, but he turns 26 in the fall. I am trying to figure out if he has to do anything before January 31. I think he would fall under the special enrollment period, but I admit to being distressingly ignorant about how the ACA works. And with all the possibilities for change on the horizon, I am tempted to be an ostrich but I won't. Anyone know how it works to transition from parental insurance to ACA once you age out of the parental? Edited January 15, 2017 by Penguin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) What I will do when I face this is call up my insurance agent, who is AWESOME but only licensed in CA, and ask her, about a month in advance. You don't pay extra for them to help you arrange it, and you get the 'inside scoop' to help you figure it out. If you're in CA, let me know and I'll PM you her information. If not, ask for referrals in your local network. Edited January 15, 2017 by Carol in Cal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 What I will do when I face this is call up my insurance agent, who is AWESOME but only licensed in CA, and ask her, about a month in advance. You don't pay extra for them to help you arrange it, and you get the 'inside scoop' to help you figure it out. If you're in CA, let me know and I'll PM you her information. If not, ask for referrals in your local network. Thank, Carol. Can you clarify this? Are you saying ask our current insurance company for help transitioning him to a different insurance? Or for transitioning him to ACA? We have had the same insurance for decades, which is why I know so precious little about what to do. I guess I could ask the benefits person at the company who to talk to at the insurance company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 My son isn't 26 yet but he aged out of the pediatric free vision and dental on his 19th birthday. I thought that he would be covered for the plan year but I was wrong. So my gut tells me that it will be the same for parental coverage. Both my kids have their own policies as teens even though I pay for them. The price is exactly the same. But I was told that this way they wouldn't have to switch to individual later. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 OK, I just found this on the HHS.gov website, and it tells me that turning 26 qualifies as one of those life events for special enrollment. https://www.hhs.gov/blog/2014/10/turning-26-start-birthday-shopping-health-insurance-now.html The article is from 2014; I hope it is still accurate. It points out that you can start your application 60 days before your birthday, and not to wait until just before your birthday. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 My 19yo is on expanded Medicaid through ACA. We had got stop claiming her as a dependent for that to be a possibility. Her job doesn't give full time hours, and pay is lousy, so she qualifies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) Thank, Carol. Can you clarify this? Are you saying ask our current insurance company for help transitioning him to a different insurance? Or for transitioning him to ACA? We have had the same insurance for decades, which is why I know so precious little about what to do. I guess I could ask the benefits person at the company who to talk to at the insurance company. I have a Farmer's agent friend who mostly sells homeowners and auto liability insurance, but she has developed considerable expertise in medical insurance as well, and so she is who I would call. Not all auto insurance agents have that expertise. So you have to ask around and go with a really good recommendation. It would not be a bad idea to talk to your current medical insurance company as well, but I would want to talk to someone who knows all of them really well in order to get help to pick the best policy for us. Edited January 15, 2017 by Carol in Cal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 My 26 year old aged off our policy last year in August. About two or three months prior our current health insurer (BCBS) started sending letters alerting him to the deadline. We investigated what it would cost for him to do his own insurance through our insurer and it was a ridiculous amount. I contacted a local insurance agent who looked on the exchange for rates for a young, mostly healthy, broke kid and found him a Blue Cross, Blue Shield policy for 10 bucks a month. My son had until the end of the birthday month, if I remember correctly, to get something else in place. We had it done before his birthday. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) My 26 year old aged off our policy last year in August. About two or three months prior our current health insurer (BCBS) started sending letters alerting him to the deadline. We investigated what it would cost for him to do his own insurance through our insurer and it was a ridiculous amount. I contacted a local insurance agent who looked on the exchange for rates for a young, mostly healthy, broke kid and found him a Blue Cross, Blue Shield policy for 10 bucks a month. My son had until the end of the birthday month, if I remember correctly, to get something else in place. We had it done before his birthday. Happy, that sounds super. Is that non-ACA insurance? DS's bday isn't until October so as long as we can ignore the Jan 31 deadline, seems that we have not ostriched too long, which is a big relief. Edited January 15, 2017 by Penguin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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