Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Keeps Dependants Covered Through Age 30

Most health insurances only allow coverage of a-Is the child of a subscriber who is less than age
dependent until a certain age. For Horizon Blue30;
Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey the age- Is not married;
restriction was coverage would terminate at the- Has no dependents of his/her own;
end of the year in which a dependent turns 23.- Is either a resident of New Jersey or enrolled as
However this has changed with thea full-time student at an accredited public or
implementation of Chapter 375, a new mandateprivate institution of higher education;
that allows coverage to continue until age 30.- Is not covered under any other group or
There are some limitations and restrictions but forindividual health benefits plan and is not covered
the most part the new mandate is bringing joy tounder Medicare;
many over age dependents attempting to peruse- Must have previously aged-out of their parent's
further schooling or for dependents who aregroup health plan, which is a fully-insured plan
unable to provider health coverage forissued in New Jersey and Is the child of a parent
themselves.who is actively covered under a group health plan,
The new mandate does not apply to employerswhich is a fully-insured plan issued in.
with Administrative Services Only (ASO)Another great thing is that even if a member is
contracts however; ASO clients will have theeligible for coverage (with the exception of
option to offer the continued coverage to theirMedicare) they are not forced into taking it. They
employees. For the most part all other groupwould still be eligible for Chapter 375.
coverage is included in its implementation. TheThe biggest draw back is the cost. Chapter 375 is
best part is that a dependent does not even needmore costly then even COBRA coverage. I would
to be living in New Jersey as long as they are arecommend to anyone who is about to become
full time student and meet the other criteria foran over-age dependent elect COBRA coverage
coverage. Something that varies however fromfirst and then once COBRA's limitations run out
the normal Horizon policy is that the dependentthen at that point elect Chapter 375. The reason
who elects Chapter 375 will only remain coveredfor this is that COBRA is generally cheaper than
until their 30th birthday, not until the end of thethe Chapter 375's cost. This will save you money
year in which they turn 30.but gain you the same coverage as you had
According to Horizon's website Q&A on the newunder your parents contract.
Mandate eligibility must include: