Health Insurance for Children Only No Longer Available
Parents looking to purchase health insurance for a “child only” recently were met with an unexpected surprise. There were no insurance plans available to cover only a child or children.
When the first real wave of provisions under the new health care reform law took effect recently, insurance companies were mandated to accept all children regardless of health conditions and without any pre-existing condition waivers, limitations or waiting periods. Insurers promptly ceased to sell insurance coverage to children without an adult to be covered on the policy as well.
Just like many of the initial health care reform mandates, this part of the law can be seen as positive until you examine the potential effect. Mandating insurance companies to accept unacceptable risks wreaks of government-run health care. Forcing an insurance company to cover an uninsured child who is about to undergo a major surgery is no different that mandating an insurer to write a fire insurance policy on a house that is already on fire.
Health Reform Limits Health Insurance Options for Children
The September 2010 health care reform mandates limits the health insurance options available for those under 19. Across the United States, many private health care insurance companies appear to have decided not to insure youth who purchase standalone policies after September 22nd.
Not all carriers have announced their decision on this issue, but many that have are choosing eliminate these types of policies.Children 18 and under who apply for a health insurance policy with at one or both parents will not be affected.
children 18 and under who are covered by standalone policies that were effective prior to the mandate will be allowed to keep their existing insurance policies.Who is at fault here? We can put the blame on the insurance carriers. However, mandating that an insurance carrier insures unhealthy people is like mandating that lending institutions to underwrite loans for those with bad credit. Congress could more at fault than the insurance companies.
How Are Children Covered by Health Insurance in a Parent’s Divorce?
When a couple with children gets a divorce, the matter of medical expenses, including medical care insurance, should be covered in the divorce decree. There are many aspects to which parent provides the insurance and which parent is responsible in paying for it.
If the parents are able to provide insurance through their place of employment, a discussion with the health insurance administrator should be able to provide information on what affect the divorce will have on the family coverage before the divorce settlement is finalized.
Health Insurance Coverage It usually makes sense that the parent with the most stable job and access to the best medical insurance plan take over the responsibility of providing health care insurance benefits for the children of the divorce. In a volatile economy, however, employment is not guaranteed.