| Issue: # 7 |
January 2, 2008 |
Greetings!
Keeping you informed of the latest developments in the employee benefit marketplace.
If you have any questions, e-mail Bill or Vanessa. To learn more about Advantage Benefits, click here. Many of our clients have found these newsletters to be quite helpful and we have now set up a link to hold all the archived newsletters on-line that can be accessed at anytime.
If you know anyone, who may find this information of interest, please forward them this newsletter (there is a link on the bottom), and they can subscribe themselves.
Sincerely,
Bill Randell & Vanessa Costa
Advantage Benefits |
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Dependent Status Changes
Tax Status is Key |
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Effective January 1st, 2007, as a result of the health care reform law, eligibility provisions for dependent coverage have changed. Coverage for dependents, including adoptive children and newborns, has been extended to:
- age 26; OR
- for two calendar years after the dependent is no longer claimed on the federal tax return of a member or member's spouse;
whichever occurs first.
The employer is responsible for making eligibility determinations and may require verification from members.
Example: An employee can list a 25 year old child as a dependent on their health insurance, irregardless of full-time student status, as long as the employee has claimed the child as a dependent on their tax return within the past two years.
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| Full-Time Student Dependent Eligibility
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An employee can still cover a child through the full-time student eligibility provision. You need to check with your HMO for their full-time student age limit.
Example: An employee can list a 21 year child, who is full-time student, even if they have not been claimed as a dependent for tax purposes for more then two years. |
| Essential Blue Young Adult
Best Option |
What if an employee's child is not eligible as a full-time student and has not been claimed as a dependent on the employee tax return in over two years? What if the inclusion of this child forces an employee to take a family plan, versus a single plan? Are there other options for young adults?
The Commonwealth's Health Connector has options targeted to young adults. The premiums are great, but the benefits are not. Why buy insurance to only find out their are limits on the benefits, when you actually need it?? Here is a link to a story in the Boston Globe that details the deficiencies of these plans.
On the other hand, Blue Cross is also offering a plan targeting Young Adults called Essential Blue that has no limits. To learn more, there is a sales presentation at WhyGetIt.com |
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Young Adult Coverage
An employee wants to have a child, age 19-26, on their health plan:
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Obtain a full-time student verification from your employee and submit to the HMO.
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If the child is not a full-time student, ask for a letter from the employee's tax-preparer verifying that the child qualifies as a dependent, under the new Commonwealth of Massachusetts Health Reform Law and file it in the employee's file.
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Employer needs to do this EVERY year.
It is now easier for an employee to keep a child on their health insurance as a dependent, but this has created even more work for the employer. Although it may be an employee's first reaction to take advantage of this, they should analyze the consequences at work, versus the cost of plans like Essential Blue Young Adult.
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