§ 27-41-61. Eligibility for children's benefits.
(a)(1) Every health benefit plan delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state
that provides health benefits coverage for dependents, except for supplemental policies
that only provide coverage for specified diseases and other supplemental policies,
shall make coverage available for children until attainment of twenty-six (26) years
of age, and an unmarried child of any age who is financially dependent upon the parent
and medically determined to have a physical or mental impairment that can be expected
to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous
period of not less than twelve (12) months.
(2) With respect to a child who has not attained twenty-six (26) years of age, a health
maintenance organization shall not define "dependent� for purposes of eligibility
for dependent coverage of children other than the terms of a relationship between
a child and the plan participant, or subscriber.
(3) A health maintenance organization shall not deny or restrict coverage for a child
who has not attained twenty-six (26) years of age based on the presence or absence
of the child's financial dependency upon the participant, primary subscriber, or any
other person, residency with the participant and in the individual market the primary
subscriber, or with any other person, marital status, student status, employment,
or any combination of those factors. A health carrier shall not deny or restrict coverage
of a child based on eligibility for other coverage, except as provided in subsection
(b)(1) of this section.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a health maintenance organization
to make coverage available for the child of a child receiving dependent coverage,
unless the grandparent becomes the legal guardian or adoptive parent of that grandchild.
(5) The terms of coverage in a health benefit plan offered by a health maintenance organization
providing dependent coverage of children cannot vary based on age except for children
who are twenty-six (26) years of age or older.
(b)(1) For plan years beginning before January 1, 2014, a group health plan providing group
health insurance coverage that is a grandfathered health plan and makes available
dependent coverage of children may exclude an adult child who has not attained twenty-six
(26) years of age from coverage only if the adult child is eligible to enroll in an
eligible employer-sponsored health benefit plan, as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5000A(f)(2), other than the group health plan of a parent.
(2) For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, a group health plan providing
group health insurance coverage that is a grandfathered health plan shall comply with
the requirements of this section
(c) This section does not apply to insurance coverage providing benefits for: (1) Hospital
confinement indemnity; (2) Disability income; (3) Accident only; (4) Long-term care;
(5) Medicare supplement; (6) Limited benefit health; (7) Specified disease indemnity;
or (8) Other limited benefit policies.