Special Enrollment Opportunities

A “special enrollment opportunity” gives people who are losing health coverage a chance to sign up immediately in an employer’s group health plan—even if it is outside of the plan’s specified times for enrollment.

We have written a fact sheet that explains when consumers have special enrollment rights under federal law: What Is a “Special Enrollment Opportunity” and Why Should I Care about It? (June 2009)

Other Resources

• The federal rules about special enrollment can be found at Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 2590.701-6(c). Click here, then scroll down to title 29 and click on the most recent year; then retrieve section 2590 and go to 2590.701.
  
  
• A recent law also gives people who are losing Medicaid and CHIP eligibility, and people who are newly eligible for Medicaid and CHIP premium assistance, a special enrollment right. The two resources below provide more detail:

• Special Enrollment Period under Group Health Plans in Case of Termination of Medicaid or CHIP Coverage or Eligibility for Assistance in Purchase of Employment-Based Coverage; Coordination of Coverage (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, HHS)

• For the text of the law, click here, then scroll down to section 311.