Don’t let your student lose health coverage
By DEBORAH STAYMAN
When full-time students, age 19 or older, complete their studies they can lose coverage under the NYS Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP).
Your unmarried dependent children who are age 19-24 are eligible if they are full-time students at an accredited school and aren’t eligible for other employer group coverage. They continue to be eligible until the earlier of the following dates:
• The end of the third month following the month they complete course requirements for graduation; or
• They reach age 25.
Students who want to continue health coverage during the summer must have been enrolled in the previous spring semester and must be enrolled as full-time students for the fall semester. If a dependent child who was a full-time student in the spring does not enroll as a full-time student for the fall, coverage under the parent’s policy will end on the last day of the month in which he or she was a full-time student attending classes.
To continue your child’s coverage without interruption, you must quickly:
• Continue coverage in NYSHIP under COBRA (the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) for up to 36 months, or
• Convert to direct-pay contracts.
Under COBRA, you must inform the state Civil Service Department’s Employee Benefits Division of your child’s loss of NYSHIP eligibility within 60 days.
To obtain a COBRA election form, send a written request to:
NYS Dept. of Civil Service
Employee Benefits Division
Attn: COBRA Unit
State Office Building Campus
Albany, NY 12239
Include your name, Social Security number, the dependent’s name, the reason for the request, the date coverage ended, and a telephone number where you can be reached during the workday. The cost of COBRA coverage is the full premium (employer and employee shares) plus 2 percent. If your child has not yet been accepted for the fall semester, coverage should be continued temporarily through COBRA.
Once your child’s enrolled for the fall, the eligibility will be reinstated retroactively and the COBRA premium you paid during the interim will be refunded.
If you want to continue health coverage for your dependent child by converting to a direct-pay contract, their new benefit package may differ from what they had under NYSHIP. For premium or other information, contact the carrier or HMO directly.
Additional information concerning COBRA and direct-pay conversion contracts can be found in the NYSHIP General Information Book for Empire Plan enrollees dated June 1, 2002 and in the NYSHIP General Information Book for HMO Enrollees dated March 1, 2002, as well as in documents communicating changes made since then. You may also contact your agency health benefits administrator, who is usually located in your personnel office, for assistance. | |
The
Communicator May 2005
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Unions plan nurses' rally to end OT
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