When to Sign Unborn Child for Obamacare?
I am pregnant. Do I have to wait until I give birth to enroll my child or can I enroll her in preparation for her birth?
Answer
You have a 60 day special enrollment period starting the moment your baby is born to add your child to a Marketplace family plan or to switch to a family plan. Having a baby is considered a "qualifying life event".
Enroll up to 30 days before a qualifying life event for coverage starting soon or shortly after the day of the event. In some cases there may be a gap between the qualifying life event and the start date of coverage. Typically coverage doesn't start until the first months premiums is paid.
Call HealthCare.Gov for specific directions.
Call to start or finish an application, compare plans, enroll or ask a question.
1-800-318-2596 / TTY: 1-855-889-4325
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Closed Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day.
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Not specific enough or give details. What if mother’s insurance doesn’t cover new baby? She can’t add a child to a family plan. Does she have to drop her existing free insurance and get new insurance for her and her child.
If you are on a individual plan you’ll need to switch to a family plan. You can do this via special enrollment. If however your income is low enough, you can put the new child on CHIP (free or low cost coverage for parents and adults). CHIP is typically a good first step, as switching to a family plan mid-year can mess up your deductible. With that said, increasing family size also increases tax credits, so a marketplace plan can be attractive as a parent.
Can I add an unborn child to Medicaid? I have HSA HDHP through employer and my kids have Mediciaid. can I add my unborn baby to Medicaid so that he will be covered for birth?
Can I sign up just my child and not myself? I have insurance through work but am on a plan I don’t think would work well for my child.