When it comes to Arizona group health insurance, qualifying events are not just for those losing group coverage which allows an individual to enroll in new health insurance plan outside the typical annual enrollment period. A qualifying event may also assist those getting married, having a baby, moving, and several other scenarios which qualify for a special enrollment period.
Two Important Reminders:
1.) Almost always an individual has 60 days from loss of coverage to obtain new coverage, whether COBRA, a new group plan, an individual plan, etc.
2.) Qualify events require documentation such as a marriage certificate, birth certificate, COBRA notice, etc. During annual open enrollment periods no such documentation is typically required.
Medicare has its own separate and distinct enrollment rules, as do Medicare supplement (Medigap) plans. It is possible that an individual may qualify for Medicare through a spouse, but the actual entitlement is determined on an individual basis and events such as disability, turning 65, or losing employer coverage as examples.
There are situations where one would be forgiven for thinking that they have a qualifying event and can switch health insurance coverage, but in reality, they do not. For those going through divorce the only person that has a qualifying event is the dependent on the policy, not the policyowner. The simple act of turning 26 is not always a qualifying event. If the 26-year-old is a dependent on a policy then yes, they likely have a qualifying event. But if they have their own policy through work or elsewhere there is no qualifying event. Moving within the same health insurance service area is not a qualifying event either, the insured must move outside the coverage area.
If you lose your job and the whole family was enrolled in the employer group health insurance plan it is important to note that each dependent has a three-year COBRA extension available to them, not the typical year and a half.
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