Insurance?
Those of you who have adopted, do you know if I put Gary on my insurance, does that mean he loses eligibility for the state insurance?
If anyone has any ideas here, it would be welcome. Thanks.
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- Daughter, sister, wife, mother, foster-parent blog writer, philosophy professor ... I am and have been many things. These days my identities as a teacher of bioethics and the daughter of a woman with Parkinson's and dementia lead me to agree with Peter Singer, "It's different when it's your mother."
I don't know how it works in your state. But in my state all my kids are on my insurance and then those adopted from state care have state insurance as a backup which means it covers anything my primary insurance does not cover. (like braces for my 14 y/o or co-pays etc.
ReplyDeleteThe state insurance becomes the secondary to cover all co pays and deductibles. We were warned it is terribly difficult to manage that way and to just use the state one.
ReplyDeleteYou can get a lot of information (even state specific) on the fosterparents.com forum: http://www.fosterparents.com/forum.htm
ReplyDeleteJust be sure to ask in the "Foster Parents" section, the other sections don't get much viewing.
:-)
In my state, the child will just be double insured. The state insurance will cover the child until 18, sometimes longer (you can sometimes get them to cover the child through college, etc, if you play the situation right).
ReplyDeleteIn cases where the child gets to keep state insurance (here in this state, not all kids do) then it becomes secondary and the adoptive parents insurance becomes primary. It works like Tudu & Lee said where state insurance will pay the copay and deductible that is left over that your primary insurance doesn't pay. But it is rare to find a doctor's office that can actually bill it correctly without it turning into an enormous mess.
ReplyDeleteWe kept our son on the state plan and DID NOT put him on our insurance at all (as we head it was a logistical billing nightmare). So far we hae had no problems. I remember filling out something BEFORE we finalized the adoption, though.
ReplyDeleteI heard back from the social worker. It turns out that the state insurance will only go until he is 18 anyway. Seeing how his birthday is in September, it isn't worth worrying about.
ReplyDeleteI already pay the premium for "employee and children" so it won't cost me anything to add him. (Well, aside from copays, deductible, etc)
FYI, any child part of a special needs adoption (which in most states includes boys over age 9) can be eligible for extended medical coverage through state medicaid if it is specified in the adoption decree. It normally applies if there are pre-existing conditions (which can mean lifetime coverage for some with severe disabilities) or at least through age 21 or college. Check and see.
ReplyDeleteCheck your insurance coverage through work. Most coverage ends when the child ceases to be full-time student. So if he does not go to college upon completing high school he will lose coverage as your dependent and then be eligible for 36 months of COBRA coverage (you would have to pay the full cost of a single for him (the university doesn't pay any percentage of the cost). After that he could go on state sponsored medicaid. Ask to see the benefit summary at work or just ask for clear guidelines on "dependent age" rules for your plan.
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