If you're enrolled in a private health insurance plan, you can add a member of your family to your coverage. You can enroll or increase your contributions, or if you qualify for a new spouse's plan, you can cancel your enrollment or reduce your contribution. Retired people who qualify for benefits also have these options. Except in cases where consensual marriages and domestic partnerships are allowed, you cannot add dependents other than your relatives.
A family health insurance plan won't allow you to add a friend unless that friend meets the relationship criteria for being a dependent. Most of the time, the only people you can add to your health insurance plan are those who are related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption. Depending on the policy, if you can include someone as a dependent in your taxes, there might be a way to add them to your health insurance. You can add family members during your employer's open enrollment period (check with your employer to find out when this annual enrollment period occurs). If you're outside your plan's open enrollment period, you can only add family members under certain qualifying circumstances, such as marriage, birth, or adoption of a child, or if your spouse loses coverage through your employer or another plan.
In cases like these, you're eligible for a special enrollment period to add a family member. If you want to enroll your family member in your employer's plan, you have 30 days from the date of the trigger event to do so. Most public and private insurance providers will allow you to add certain qualifying family members to your policy. For example, most employer-sponsored group health plans voluntarily accept the spouses of covered members at a significant discount on the cost of individual coverage. Most employer-sponsored insurers also offer family plans that cover minor and adult children, as well as spouses.
These plans are often much more generous than individual plans and can offer low-cost prenatal, primary and preventive care. This website may not display all the data on qualified health plans (QHPs) offered in your state through the Health Insurance MarketPlacesM website. In addition, you must provide health insurance to anyone who claims to be a tax-dependent. If you have questions about your eligibility or if you need help finding coverage for your parents, eHealth's team of trusted health insurance experts can discuss your options. If you can't classify someone as a dependent, you most likely can't add them to your health insurance plan. Some individual health insurance plans allow unmarried couples to be in the same plan, along with any legal dependents, if they live together, or if there is a court order ordering one of the couple's members to provide insurance for their children.
Protecting the health of your loved ones with quality health coverage is one of the most important things you can do for them. Some states allow you to add domestic partners and domestic partner children to your health insurance plan. Governor, if you can count someone as a dependent on your taxes, they are also a dependent on your health insurance plan. Depending on where you buy your health insurance, they can also choose between the plans you trust, such as the health plan, dental insurance, vision insurance and more. No person who applies for health coverage through the individual marketplace will be dissuaded from applying for benefits, denied coverage, or charged an additional premium for their health status, medical condition, experience in mental illness claims, medical history, genetic information or health disability.
Your dependents can receive the benefits of your health insurance plan and use it the same way you do. So who can I add to my health insurance plan for tax benefits? The same people you would add to your health insurance plan to receive health benefits. In addition, if you and your ex had been contributing to a health savings account, you may still be able to use your share of the money in that account to pay for health care premiums or for qualified health care expenses. However, when it comes to adding other people to your health insurance, the rules are ultimately determined by your employer, the health plan or both. When taking out a private health insurance policy for yourself and/or family members it is important to understand who is eligible for coverage and what options are available. You may be able to include certain qualifying family members on an individual policy such as spouses and minor children; however some states also allow domestic partners and domestic partner children on policies as well.
Employer-sponsored group plans often offer discounts on individual coverage for spouses and may even provide family plans that cover minor and adult children. In addition to understanding who is eligible for coverage it is important to know when family members may be added or removed from an existing policy. Generally speaking most employers offer an annual open enrollment period during which time employees may make changes such as adding family members; however there are also special enrollment periods available in certain circumstances such as marriage or birth of a child which allow individuals outside of open enrollment periods to make changes as well. Finally it is important to note that any person who applies for coverage through an individual marketplace will not be denied based on their medical history or disability status; however they must meet all other criteria in order to be eligible for coverage. Protecting the health of yourself and loved ones with quality private health coverage is one of the most important things that can be done; understanding who is eligible and when changes may be made is key in making sure that everyone has access to quality care when needed.
