Anthem Overage Dependent Action

Here is an email sent from Anthem regarding how they will handle the dependent age status change:

Each year in June, many young people ¾ because of their age, student status or other factors ¾ become ineligible as dependents on their parents' insurance policies. Health care reform legislation, signed into law last month, will extend dependent coverage to age 26 for plan years beginning September 23, 2010. While this is great news, it also means that many members would face a coverage gap during the months before this provision is fully implemented.

To help these members, we're working, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and state regulators, to allow young men and women to remain on their parents' group and individual health policies even before this health care reform provision takes effect. Beginning June 1, we will continue to provide health benefits to those dependents that would otherwise lose coverage because of their age, student status or other factors during the gap period between June 1, 2010, and the September 23, 2010, effective date. This extension of coverage will not be retroactive, however, for those who have dependents who aged out prior to June 1, 2010. Those individuals will be able to add their dependents back onto their policies with the new plan year beginning on or after September 23 in accordance with the new law.