The government has asked and many insurance companies have agreed to accelerate the effective date to cover adult children to age 26 to May10. IRS regulations are written to facilitate this acceleration while keeping the tax benefits which are effective retroactive to March 2010.
Here is a list of those insurance who have agreed to an early effective date (there may be others at this point). Americans who are covered by a self-insured employer plan (70,000,000) are not affected unless the employer voluntarily accelerates the effective date.
Note: such early compliance with PPACA will add additional cost to any insurance or employer plan for 2010. That could be between .5% and .7% depending on the actual effective date and the number of individuals who enroll.
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called on leading insurance companies to begin covering young adults voluntarily before the September 23rd implementation date required by the Affordable Care Act. Early implementation would avoid gaps in coverage for new college graduates and other young adults and save on insurance company administrative costs of dis-enrolling and re-enrolling them between May 2010 and September 23, 2010. Many companies have responded including:
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, Inc.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Hawaii
Blue Shield of California
Blue Cross of Idaho Health Service
Regence Blue Shield of Idaho
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa
Health Care Service Corporation
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
WellPoint, Inc.
CareFirst BlueCross and BlueShield
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi
Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey, Inc.
HealthNow New York, Inc.
The Regence Group
Excellus Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Capital BlueCross
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
Independence Blue Cross
BlueCross BlueShield of North Dakota
Highmark, Inc.
Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania
BlueCross and BlueShield of Tennessee
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
Premera Blue Cross
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wyoming
Kaiser Permanente
Cigna
Aetna
United
WellPoint
Humana
Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan (CDPHP), Albany, New York
Capital Health Plan, Tallahassee, Florida
Care Oregon, Portland, Oregon
Emblem Health, New York, New York
Fallon Community Health Plan, Worcester, Massachusetts
Geisinger Health Plan, Danville, Pennsylvania
Group Health, Seattle, Washington
Group Health Cooperative Of South Central Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
Health Partners, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Independent Health, Buffalo, New York
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Oakland, California
Martin’s Point Health Care, Portland, Maine
New West Health Services, Helena, Mt
The Permanente Federation, Oakland, California
Priority Health, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Scott & White Health Plan, Temple, Texas
Security Health Plan, Marshfield, Wisconsin
Tufts Health Plan, Waltham, Massachusetts
UCARE, Minneapolis, Minnesota
UPMC Health Plan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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