March 29, 2017

Special Enrollment Period (SEP) Reminder: Adding a Dependent

When the primary insured of an individual qualified health plan gains a dependent due to a qualifying life event such as birth or marriage, the new SEP application should list the entire tax family, including the new dependent.

This process applies to qualifying life events such as:

• Birth
• Adoption or placement for adoption
• Foster care
• Court-ordered dependent coverage
• Marriage
• Common-law marriage

When the primary insured submits an SEP application to add a dependent to an existing policy, the new policy that is issued replaces the existing one; it is not in addition to existing family coverage.

To ensure there’s no disruption in coverage for existing family members, the new application should list everyone that is supposed to be on the policy, including the new dependent.