Having a baby is one of life’s most exciting moments, but between the constant crying, lack of sleep, and consistent feeding, it is easy to forget to do the little things – like signing your baby up for health insurance. Luckily, you can take a breath because if you receive medical benefits through your employer, your baby will be automatically covered under your policy for the first 30 days. Giving birth is a qualifying life event, which means that you can either sign your baby up for your current plan or switch to a different one during a period outside of open enrollment. These rules apply to any new parents – regardless of whether you are having a natural birth or adopting.
If you do not have insurance through your workplace, you can use the federal government’s health insurance marketplace to shop for coverage through a Special Enrollment Period. Similar to above, this is a time outside of the open enrollment period when you can sign up for health insurance because you’ve had a qualifying life event like having a baby, adoption, getting married, and losing existing coverage. You have up to 60 days after the qualifying event to sign up for health insurance. If you attempt to sign up outside of that range, you’ll have to wait until the next open enrollment period.
At QuoteBroker Insurance Services in Santa Clarita, CA, we understand that having a baby can be exciting and overwhelming. Consequently, we make it easy for you to find the best health insurance policy for your needs by doing the heavy lifting for you. Give us a call today to learn more.
