Effective July 1st, under a new Ohio law, if you are an employer which uses an insurance company or a Health Insuring Corporation (formerly an HMO) to provide health insurance for your employees, and the policy includes dependent coverage --- or if you are an employee or individual with such health insurance coverage --- we want to notify you that an employee's unmarried children who are under the age of 28, and who meet certain other requirements, will have to be offered coverage by the insurer under your health benefit plan. Employees must receive timely notice of this opportunity to enroll their older children. If a child is currently covered but is about to go off coverage because of a previous age limit, notice must be sent regarding the option to request extended coverage.
Self-insured ERISA plans are not obliged to extend coverage to older children under Ohio Law, but will be governed by federal law, effective September, 2010. Ohio's law differs from the new federal health insurance reform in that the limiting age is moved up to 28, instead of 26, and begins on July1st, instead of September 23rd.
Please contact your Stark & Knoll attorney, at 330-376-3300 for more information on this important legal development.