Health Insurance in Illinois

Health insurance in Illinois for the slightly over 20 crowd just got better.

There’s a new option for parents who want to check out health
insurance in Illinois for their about-to-graduate young adults. This
new law came into effect June 1, 2009, and it lets families keep young
adults on their health insurance policies until they reach the age of
26 years old. This is a major step forward for health insurance in
Illinois and takes care of parents’ concerns about medical coverage for
their older children.

There is one important eligibility requirement that your young adult
must meet to be kept on your family health insurance in Illinois, and
that is they must not be married. Other than that, any young adult
under the age of 26 whose parents have a health insurance policy is
eligible. In addition to this, a young adult who is under the age of 30
and whose parent(s) served in the military is also eligible, provided
they live in the state and are not married.

This law doesn’t apply to union plans or companies that are
self-insured. If you’re in doubt about your status, check with the
human resources department. Typically, the law also does not apply to
insurance policies that were issued outside the state of Illinois.
There is one exception though, and that is if you have coverage through
an HMO with a network of physicians and hospitals in Illinois.

Getting enrolled in this program is easy. If the family has medical
coverage that includes dependents, there is a 90-day enrollment period
for the children when the policy is due for renewal. You might want to
find out when the open enrollment period is due to speed things up a
bit. Prior to open enrollment of the 90-day period, parents might need
individual insurance to cover that gap or find out if they are eligible
for COBRA or Illinois continuation coverage. If you have any doubt,
speak to a qualified Illinois health insurance broker who has access to
numerous carriers and will be able to assist you in making the right
choice of insurance for your family’s needs.

Don’t miss the 90-day enrollment period. The reason for this is that
an insurance company can’t exclude your children from coverage because
they weren’t previously insured. In addition, once the open enrollment
period is over, the insurance company may insist on continuous
coverage, meaning the company will only issue a policy if someone has
prior medical coverage for 90-days.

It’s best to move quickly and take advantage of this law during the
first year it is in effect, as the 90-day enrollment periods are “only”
available in this first year from June 1 through May 31, 2010. After
that time period, you may enroll your young adult during a regular
30-day enrollment at your place of work. Be aware that the insurance
company may want continuous coverage.

To find out what costs are involved or to talk about pre-existing
conditions, make it a point to speak to an expert health insurance
broker with lots of experience who is able to put you with a carrier
without riders or exclusions if at all possible.

Randy Gillespie is with Illinois health insurance agency, Focus Insurance Group. To learn more about Illinois health insurance, Illinois health insurance quotes, Illinois group health insurance or to get an Illinois health insurance quotes, visit Focusinsgroup.com