Health Insurance Dependent

In general, a dependent is someone who is under the age of 18. There are many variations on that definition when it comes to health insurance coverage. A health insurance dependent usually has to be under the age of 18 and the person who has the insurance coverage must be the legal guardian of that dependent. The whole idea of defining health insurance dependents is generally not too confusing when you have health insurance and you are getting dependent coverage for your minor children. However, in many cases dependent status can become confusing when circumstances are not that straightforward.

Exemptions, Extensions and Different Situations

Many health insurance plans will extend coverage to dependents if they are a full time student. This means that if you have a child who is going to be attending college after they turn 18 and will be a full student then they can continue getting coverage under your health care policy. Not all insurance companies offer this option. It is important that you ask about your policy coverage before your child reaches the age of 18 just so you can be prepared if they are dropped from your insurance plan.

Having a baby is a wonderful thing, but when it comes to health care coverage it can be a stressful situation. Some insurance companies make adding a newborn baby to a policy easy. Other companies have rules that make it a little more difficult to get your new baby covered. In some cases you may have to wait until the open enrollment period to add your newborn to your policy. The same situation may occur when you adopt a child or become the legal guardian of a child.

A health insurance company is really completely in control of how they determine health insurance dependent status. Federal laws do not mandate who must be considered as a dependent for insurance purposes. Some states have set regulations, though. It is very important to understand your policy so you know for sure who is covered, how long they are covered and how new dependents can be added.

Not Just Children

In some cases a health insurance dependent is not just a child or a minor under the age of 18. A dependent can also refer to a same sex domestic partner or a spouse. Many health insurance companies have extended coverage to include a same sex domestic partner as a dependent, but not all companies do this. Most insurance companies do include a spouse as a health insurance dependent.

In order to claim a partner or a spouse as a health insurance dependent on your insurance you will likely have to provide some type of proof that the person really is your partner or spouse. For a spouse, a marriage license would probably be adequate and is quite easy to provide. However, with a partner, there is no legal documentation. Insurance companies may have different means by which they determine if a person can be claimed as a dependent using the same sex partner status.

Why Insurance Companies Are So Strict

Health insurance companies are strict about health insurance dependent status because they do not want to provide coverage for someone under your policy if they do not qualify. It is very important to understand that claiming someone as a dependent who does not actually qualify could mean you end up paying all medical costs out of pocket, you could be denied further coverage for yourself or you could be sued for insurance fraud if you were deceptive in getting that person covered on your policy.