Question
What is the name of your state? WI
Hi all. I have a question. I just got health insurance last year but my wife did not cancel her health insurance from her job within 30 days. When enrollment came for her insurance this year, Empire insurance did not send anything out to her. My wife just called today to cancel her insurance but Empire said she cannot because enrollment is over until next year. Now we are stuck with paying my health insurance and hers' (over $300.00 a month ). Is there ANY way we can cancel her insurance? Thanks for any help provided!!!
Answer
When was her open enrollment?
Generally the HR department of any company saturates the employees with information that open enrollment is coming up/happening; why did she not call them when she did not receive any info?
And most important, does her portion of the premium get deducted pre-tax or post tax? If post tax, is there an option for pre-tax?
Answer
Enrollment was January through March. Her Manager at her company only told her once about open enrollment. The insurance company never sent anything out. Her premium is post-tax. The HR dept at her company said they had two months for enrollment. There is nothing they can (will) do.
Are we really FORCED to have health insurance? Why can we (or anyone) not just cancel health insurance at anytime of the year? When people start jobs, within 30 days they have the option to get insuance. So why can people just cancel?
Answer
Pre-tax, employer-sponsored health plans are strictly governed by federal laws which state that coverage can only be started or stopped during the open enrollment period, or within 30 days after a "qualifying life event". A qualifying event would be the initial eligibility period when starting a new job, ending a job, getting married, giving birth or adopting, or one's spouse starting or stopping a job (did I miss any?). If an employer or insurance company allows coverage to be started or stopped outside of these guidelines, they risk losing their pre-tax status.
If it is NOT a pre-tax (also known as section 125) employer sponsored plan, then they MAY allow you to cancel outside open enrollment, but they are not required to.
The employer and insurance company SHOULD have sent out packages during open enrollment season, but it's still your responsibility (and your wife's) to be proactive regarding your coverage.