My husband just quit his job and started another one. The open enrollment period for the health insurance coverage isnt for a year. What do I do about myself, my husband and our 3 year old son's health insurance converage?
Oh my gosh, I did not know that new employees could enroll in the health insurance program right away. I feel so much better about this now. Thank you all so incredibly much!!
You all should be able to join his new company's health plan now.
Open enrollment is for existing employees to make their choices for the year.
Hiring time is when new employees sign up and that can be any time.
You shouldn't have to wait for open enrollment ~ this falls under major life changes/qualifying event. Just like when you get married or have a baby or someone passes away, they are added right away or taken off right away.
You need to call HR and clarify.
I'm an insurance agent in AZ. You shouldn't have to wait until open enrollment. There may be a waiting period for new hires but check with HR to make sure. If you do miss it, then you WILL have to wait until open enrollment. Good luck.
Just like Shane said, new employees shouldn't have to wait for open enrollment, at least not in any state I've ever heard about before, and certainly not in NJ (I lived there a majority of my life, so I'm positive about that one). Double check with HR at his new company & look on the state website, should be something like nj.gov or something similar.
This should have been explained to your husband when he took the new job. When we have a new employee, I spend 1/2 a day with them going over the new hire forms and benefits.
If there is a waiting period (our company has a 90 day waiting period), then the previously employer should send you information regarding COBRA. You can pay for the COBRA until the waiting period has been completed. COBRA is very expensive and some employees will negotiate with the new company for them to pay the COBRA until they are eligible for the company sponsored benefits.
Since he is a new hire, you should not have to wait for open enrollment. This is a life altering event so open enrollment waiting period does not come into play.
So your choices are
1. If there is a waiting period wait
2. Pay for COBRA
3. Find insurance for the waiting period
He should be able to enroll right away...I think it took 30 days to kick in when my husband chanced jobs, so we used COBRA from the old job until the new insurance kicked in.
Open enrollment is only if you want to make changes, drop their insurance, etc etc.
Have him talk to his HR department.
New hires don't have to wait for open enrollment as long as they have proof of other creditable coverage. You just fill out the application for the new insurance carrier and provide the information from the previous carrier.
That's how it works in California anyway, as long as you haven't had a gap in coverage longer than 30 days.
Human Resources should be able to help you with all of that.
Best wishes.
Unless they have to wait until the next year which is not he norm you should be able to enroll. Open enrollment usually is only for current employees. At my job once you start you have a certain amount of time till you get benifits but it's like 30 days. Not 6 + months. And if there is a change you can usally change it too. Like change of job, birth, that kind of thing. You might want to ask for more info from his HR department. I know I am the one that has to do that kind of stuff for my husband.
Good luck and God Bless!
You're paid up on the insurance from his old job for 30 days past his quitting date. And you have 30 days o sign up for insurance with his new job. So you're covered.
Perhaps I misunderstood? He will have insurance from his new job? He will have the opportunity to sign up for insurance with his new job when he's hired. With my daughter there was a 60 or 90 day period ( I can't remember how long) during which she could not use the new insurance which left her and her family uncovered for 30-60 days.
If I remember correctly, you can pay for insurance with the old company for awhile, to cover the period before the new insurance kicks in. It's called COBRA. Ask HR about that.
like everyone else is saying, new hires don't wait til open enrollment, just like you don't wait for open enrollment to ensure a new spouse or a new baby... your husband needs to talk to human resources NOW
Your husband's old job might offer COBRA coverage - it's expensive - but it's coverage. If you go more than 63 days without coverage, the new insurance company can decide to not cover things as a "pre-existing condition".
However, I'm finding it hard to believe a company is making a new employee wait 365 days for enrollment. That's just WAY long. I can see 30, 45, 60 and 90 days waiting period but ONE YEAR? Most open enrollment programs start in September and end in October. Especially since he's a NEW employee. Contact the HR department and find out from them. No new employee should have to wait one year.
Call around and check into private insurance. You can google private health insurance and select companies you know - like Blue Cross, Cigna, etc.You might even call your home owners insurance company!! Some are actually brokering that too - wrapping it all in one package for their clients.
According to my wife, a new employee is exempt from "open enrollment" as they meet the requirements of life changing event.
Please call the new company's HR office and discuss the process with them. There are companies that do have waiting periods of up to 3 months, but never 1 year for health insurance. Some make you wait one year for things like 401K, Education reimbursement, etc.
My husband had to wait 90 days...worst case scenario, I would at least look into emergency insurance...I hate the idea of going without insurance and ending up in the ER for something that could cost tens of thousands of dollars :/. Most emergency type insurances are fairly reasonable...not the best coverage (doesn't cover well child checkups or preventative measures)...but it should at least prevent you from ending up with some $20,000 bill because somebody broke their leg and needs surgery or something.
Starting a new job is a qualifying event that isn't subject to open enrollment.
Our open enrollment is in January but say my husband's job cut out his insurance the first of June. Then on the first of June he could go on my plan. Kind of the same thing as babies, not like you can make them all be born in the month of January.:)
Most of the time, new employees can enroll right away or sometimes there is a 3 month waiting period.
If not, you should be able to get Cobra which is insanely expensive but good just in case you have a huge emergency of some kind.
Your husbands orevious Compnay should have offered COBRA.
Hubby's old employer should offer him COBRA insurance. If it's been over 30 days since he's left employment, he should contact them.
I find it hard to beleive you need to wait an entire year before waiting to enroll in health coverage. Something just doesn't seem right. Make sure you carefully read all the information and if there's something you don't understand ask.
