Can I be added to my husbands health insurance plan outside of open enrollment due to pregnancy? I have my own insurance through my employer but it excludes maternity benefits. My husbands plan does have maternity coverage but open enrollment is 5 months away. We would like to plan a pregnancy now if I am able to switch to his plan.
Answer by Moderator - Friday, October 16, 2009 @ 1:12pm No CommentsNo comments yet. Leave a comment |
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Unfortunately, pregnancy is not a qualifier in being added as a dependent to a group plan outside of the open enrollment period. This option is limited to new hires, newborn or adopted children and new spouses. The whole concept of open enrollment is to provide the insurance companies with some protection from employees only adding dependents to their plan when they are in need of medical care. Without this restriction, most employees would opt out of paying the additional dependent premium if their dependents were healthy. You can certainly be added to your husband’s coverage at open enrollment, but the insurance carrier may impose a waiting period on maternity benefits. This is something you definitely want to investigate and plan for.
