By: HUB’s EB Compliance Team

Last month, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Ohio’s two-year budget bill, House Bill 33, into law. The budget bill is important to state funding and programs, but budget bills often contain provisions that aren’t at all related to funding or programs. That holds true with this bill as well. 

House Bill 33 amends Section 1751.14 of the Ohio Revised Code applicable to health insuring corporations in the state and modifies existing termination of coverage provisions in health contracts for dependent children. This modification extends the cutoff age for dependents in not only medical, but dental and vision contracts too. Therefore, any contracts issued, renewed or amended on or after January 1, 2024 will be required to extend dental and vision coverage to unmarried dependent children up to age 26 at the subscriber’s request. 

This extension of coverage requires that the dependent is:

  • The natural child, stepchild, or adopted child of the subscriber;
  • A resident of Ohio or enrolled full-time as a student in an institution of higher education;
  • Not employed by an employer offering any health benefit plan under which the child is eligible; and
  • Not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare.

The extension of coverage provisions in general do not:

  • Require any policy to newly offer coverage to dependent children;
  • Require any policy to extend coverage to an unmarried dependent’s children; or
  • Require that the employer pay any portion of the premium for any extended coverage.

Employer Action Items

  • Employers with fully-insured dental and vision plans written in Ohio should be aware of the extension and determine whether or not they will subsidize the premium for dependents.
  • Employers with self-funded dental and vision plans should determine whether or not they wish to voluntarily extend coverage for dependent children consistent with the Ohio code and whether or not they wish to subsidize the premium if they do extend coverage. However, self-funded employers are not required to extend dependent coverage (due to ERISA pre-emption of state insurance law). 

Note that when the Affordable Care Act was passed and required extension of dependent coverage to age 26 for group health plans, some employers chose to extend the dependent age on their dental and vision policies to simplify the administration of eligibility on their benefit plans. If you already provide dental and vision coverage to age 26 under your dental and vision policies, you should not need to take any action at this time. 

Employers should also be aware that this change could also impact when a COBRA qualifying event occurs. Continuation of coverage under COBRA is required when there is both a qualifying loss of coverage and a loss of eligibility under the group health plan. For dependents that qualify for the new extension of coverage, the loss of coverage will now occur when they reach age 26. 

If you have any questions, please contact your HUB Advisor. View more compliance articles in our Compliance Directory.

NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER

Neither Hub International Limited nor any of its affiliated companies is a law or accounting firm, and therefore they cannot provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is provided for general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or tax advice as to an organization’s or individual's specific circumstances. It is based on Hub International's understanding of the law as it exists on the date of this publication. Subsequent developments may result in this information becoming outdated or incorrect and Hub International does not have an obligation to update this information. You should consult an attorney, accountant, or other legal or tax professional regarding the application of the general information provided here to your organization’s specific situation in light of your or your organization’s particular needs.