As you may have noticed, the governor on Monday signed Senate Bill 514 to give Oregon children in the individual health insurance market year-round access to health insurance. However, what wasn’t publicized is that this doesn’t start until August 1 – after the division finishes rulemaking.
Enrollment in Oregon for children in the individual market is currently limited to the months of February and August. This is the result of federal health reform and the requirement that insurers accept all children, including those with pre-existing conditions, for coverage. The limited enrollment periods were intended to minimize the ability of families to wait until their children were sick to buy insurance.
The division worked with insurers, the state’s high-risk pool and others on an assessment system through the high-risk pool that ensures no one insurance company pays a disproportionate amount for high-risk children. The division’s rulemaking spells out the details. A public hearing on the rules to create the Children’s Reinsurance Program is scheduled for Tuesday, June 21. The last day for public comment is Tuesday, June 28. The draft rules (which will be changed to reflect public comments received) can be found at: http://insurance.oregon.gov/rules/prop_admin_rules.html.
The Insurance Division anticipates that the new program will apply to applications received on or after August 1, 2011. After that date, open enrollment will no longer be limited to August and February.
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