CLEVELAND, September 13 — On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Since that date several federal agencies have published Interim Final Regulations (IFRs) interpreting the provisions of the Act (the “Act”).
Recent interpretations of the Act will allow certain dependent children to remain on an employee’s health care insurance plan until age 26 without regard to student, marital, residence or financial dependent status of the dependent child. The IFRs issued to date also require the GA-23000 Plan to eliminate lifetime limits on the dollar amount of benefits for any individual.
These provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will become effective Jan. 1, 2011, beginning with the new Plan year.
The Act requires that the addition to health care insurance plans, of eligible dependent children under age 26, be accomplished within a 30-day special enrollment period. This special 30-day enrollment period will run concurrently with the Plan’s annual open enrollment period this year. Coverage for any dependent children added during this special enrollment period will be effective on January 1, 2011.
Complete information on the eligible dependent child provision, and elimination of the lifetime maximum benefit limits under the railroad national health and welfare plan, will be detailed in the annual re-enrollment packet railroad employees will be receiving from United Healthcare in the next few weeks.
In order to take advantage of this new improved Plan benefit, it is imperative that the packet from United Healthcare be reviewed carefully when it arrives, as failure to complete and return the required information in the required time period could result in a missed opportunity to enroll your eligible dependent child.
It is important to note that the changes regarding dependent children pertain to medical coverage only. The Act does not impact Dental or Vision coverage. Questions regarding this matter or your benefits may be directed to Railroad Enrollment Services at 1-800-753-2692.