The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 require health, dental and vision plans extend dependent eligibility up to age 26 for adult children, regardless of student or marital status. While the deadline for compliance is the start of our plan year, January 1, 2011, the University of Arkansas is offering an earlier, special enrollment so that newly eligible dependents (adult child) may be added to the plan effective October 1, 2010.
Who is eligible to enroll?
- If you are currently eligible for benefits, or will be as of October 1;
- You have an adult child age 19 – 25 (born 10-02-1984 to 10-01-1991) who is not an eligible dependent under the old rules. For example, they are not in school full-time, are married, or had reached the old cut-off age of 25 (age 26 is now the new cut-off age);
- Employees who are not currently covered under the health, dental or vision plan, but have newly eligible dependents (age 19 – 26) may also enroll for coverage during this special enrollment if they have eligible dependents (adult child) they wish to add to the plan.
- “Adult Child” includes your biological child, your legally adopted child, your step child and your eligible foster child. An adult child does not include children of an adult child or the adult child’s spouse.
