888-765-5400Blue Cross Blue Shield NC New Effective Date Guidelines
“When will my coverage begin?” is one of the questions we are most frequently asked here at Jerry Ballard and Associates. And it’s a good one. In fact, it’s one of the most important questions you can ask regarding your health insurance plan. Not only is it important in terms of knowing when you can begin using your insurance with your health care provider, it’s also important to know when you want coverage to begin in order to ensure your application is completed in time to receive the effective date your family needs. For instance, if you are losing coverage through your employer and you know it will be ending at the end of the month, you want to make sure your application is completed in time to avoid any gap in coverage. Oftentimes, consumers are unaware that application deadlines exist, and this can lead to problems. Meeting those important effective date deadlines when applying for health insurance can make all the difference in the world when it comes to being covered.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina recently decided to align available effective dates with the federal Marketplace, meaning whether you are enrolling in a BCBSNC health plan either on or off the Marketplace, the same effective date deadlines will apply. Beginning July 11, 2015, BCBSNC will no longer offer a 15th of the month effective date for individual under 65 policies, including dental policies. This means that the only available effective date for all Blue Cross Blue Shield health and dental policies will be the 1st of every month and in order to receive that effective date, customers must apply by the 15th of the prior month. If a customer applies after the 15th, then the effective date will be the 1st of the following month.
As always, however, there are exceptions to the rule. Depending on your Qualifying Life Event, your effective date deadlines may be different. Contact our office for more details regarding your Qualifying Life Event and your effective date deadlines.
The important thing to keep in mind is that Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina offers health plans both on and off the federal Exchange and in an effort to eliminate any confusion surrounding effective date deadlines, the same rules will now apply to both. Whether you are applying on the Marketplace or off the Marketplace, the effective date deadlines will be the same. Keep these dates in mind in order to avoid any unnecessary gaps in coverage and to ensure that your health plan will be effective when you need it.
For more information on Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina health insurance coverage, the Marketplace and healthcare gov to apply for your subsidy, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our experienced and professional agents. Let us help you navigate through the Health Care Reform changes in accordance with the new regulations of The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama care.