Several documents explaining changes to Indiana Health Insurance Laws on Jan 1, 2008
There has been a lot of misinformation about the new health insurance laws that took effect in Indiana on January 1, 2008. The State Legislature mandated that insurance companies must cover dependents until age 24, regardless of whether they are students or not. Previously, dependents had to be full-time students to be covered after the age of 18. Now, they can be part-time students - - or not even students at all - - and your insurance still must cover them until age 24. They can even be employed, as long as they still qualify as dependents.
THE GOOD NEWS: The Indiana State Legislature passed this law to help control the costs of young, uninsured people. The 18 to 24 age group has a lot of accidents and also has a large number of uninsured citizens. The State of Indiana ends up paying their medical costs when they go to the emergency room or when they need surgery, such as an appendectomy. This new law is an effort to save the state some money and force insurance companies to cover your children, as long as they still qualify as dependents.
THE BAD NEWS: Due to lobbying by insurance companies, the law was written to say that this coverage must be provided if requested. In other words, if the insurance company "forgets" to tell you about this option, or if you are not aware of it, then the insurance company does not automatically have to provide it. What is not clear is what happens if your employer is based in a different state and your office is just a local field office. Also unclear is what happens if you work in Illinois or Michigan, but live in Indiana. Which set of laws is applicable? I am sure that it was lobbying by the insurance industry that caused the law to be less clear than it should have been.
Some parents have told me that they had to hire an attorney before their health insurance company would cover their dependents. At the very least, you might have to spend some time on the phone, going up the chain of command, until you get hold of someone who admits that the law forces them to cover your children. Hopefully, these documents can help you to plead your case.
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