What qualifies as domestic partner for health insurance

Q: Can I add my girlfriend to my health insurance if we live together?

Employees typically cant add a boyfriend or girlfriend to their health insurance. Normally, to obtain coverage under an employers plan, a person would need to meet the definition in the benefit plan document for the spouse or domestic partner or dependent,” Lee says.

You may add your new spouse to your health, dental and vision plans within 31 days of the qualifying life event.

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Domestic Partnerships
Why the Period for Making Changes is Limited
Can I add my girlfriend to my health insurance if we live together?
What is a qualified domestic partner?
Can I be on my boyfriend's health insurance if we live together?
Is a boyfriend considered a domestic partner?

If you miss that window, you must wait until the next annual Open Enrollment period. The checklist below will help you to keep track of any changes you need to make to your benefits.

Domestic Partnerships

If you are eligible to receive benefits, you may include your domestic partner in your medical, dental, or vision plan coverage.

In order to enroll your partner, you must complete the Affidavit of Domestic Partnership (below) and send it directly to MIT Benefits. If you would like to terminate the coverage for your domestic partner, you must complete the Declaration of Termination of Domestic Partnership (below) and send it directly to MIT Benefits.

Why the Period for Making Changes is Limited

Most of the benefit plans offered through MIT are paid with pre-tax dollars. In exchange for that tax advantage, you are legally prohibited from enrolling in, canceling, or making changes to your medical, dental, and reimbursement account plans outside of the annual Open Enrollment period unless you experience a qualifying change in your life.

MIT's policy for allowing changes outside Open Enrollment in the case of certain qualifying life events is consistent with the federal Department of Labor guidelines under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

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Questions and Answers on the Domestic Partnership Act

1. What does the Act require with respect to health insurance coverage for domestic partners?
2. Does the Act prohibit carriers from offering opposite gender domestic partner coverage?
3. Must coverage be offered for children of domestic partners?
4. When is the Act effective with respect to the offer of health insurance coverage for domestic partners?
5. Who is the offer of coverage made to - the employer or the employee?
6. What types of coverages does the Act apply to?
7. How does a carrier determine whether a domestic partnership exists?
8. Can carriers charge an employer more for domestic partners than for a spouse?
9. Is it true that my employer can require me to pay for the coverage of my domestic partner?
10. Does the Act only apply to insurance carriers domiciled in New Jersey?

1. What does the Act require with respect to health insurance coverage for domestic partners?
The Act requires health insurance carriers to offer policyholders the option to elect coverage for same-gender, domestic partners of covered persons if the policy permits coverage for eligible dependents and is issued or renewed after July 10, 2004.

2. Does the Act prohibit carriers from offering opposite gender domestic partner coverage?
While the Act does not require that opposite gender domestic partner coverage be offered, it does not prohibit carriers from offering domestic partner coverage that is broader in scope than that required by the Act.

3. Must coverage be offered for children of domestic partners?
The intent of the Act is to treat domestic partners of covered persons as spouses for purposes of providing health insurance coverage. Accordingly, if a spouse's natural, adoptive or stepchildren would be covered, the domestic partner's children would similarly be covered.

4. When is the Act effective with respect to the offer of health insurance coverage for domestic partners?
The Act applies to new policies issued after July 10, 2004 and to in-force policies as they renew after July 10, 2004.

5. Who is the offer of coverage made to - the employer or the employee?
In the case of employer-sponsored coverage, carriers must make the required offer of coverage to the employer, not to the individual covered employees. Employer-provided coverage includes coverage under a group contract between an insurer and an employer or, where permitted, a multi-employer trust or other multi-employer arrangement. Employer-provided coverage may require the employee to contribute some portion or all of the cost of the coverage.

6. What types of coverages does the Act apply to?
The Act only applies to health insurance, it does not apply to life insurance. With respect to health coverage, the Act applies to policies providing comprehensive or major medical coverage, as well as to stand-alone dental, prescription drug, and vision coverage. It does not apply to accident only, credit, disability income, stop loss or long-term care coverage.

Group student health insurance that provides benefits for both accidents and sickness under which dependent coverage is available must offer dependent coverage to a covered person's domestic partner. Group student policies that provide accident-only coverage for students and their dependents do not have to offer domestic partner coverage.

Medicare Supplement policies are not typically designed to provide dependent coverage. However, if dependent coverage is provided, a Medicare Supplement policy must offer coverage to a covered person's domestic partner unless prohibited by federal law. The Act does not apply to health benefits that are self-funded, even if such benefits are administered by an insurance carrier or an affiliate of an insurance carrier.

7. How does a carrier determine whether a domestic partnership exists?
The Department is not regulating what proof carriers may require employees to submit to establish the existence of a domestic partnership. Carriers may, but are not required, to obtain evidence of a domestic partnership. Similarly, the Department does not regulate how insurers determine that two persons are married.

8. Can carriers charge an employer more for domestic partners than for a spouse?
Carriers are prohibited from rating domestic partners differently than spouses in the small employer market (50 or fewer employees). Carriers may charge more for domestic partners in the large employer market.

9. Is it true that my employer can require me to pay for the coverage of my domestic partner?
Yes, the Domestic Partnership Act allows local employers to require the employee to pay for the coverage of his or her domestic partner. In other words, If an employee wants his partner to be covered, he may have to pay for that coverage.

10. Does the Act only apply to insurance carriers domiciled in New Jersey?
No, the Act applies to all companies authorized to transact health insurance in New Jersey, regardless of the state of domicile. However, the Act applies only to policies issued in New Jersey.

OPRA is a state law that was enacted to give the public greater access to government records maintained by public agencies in New Jersey.

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Can I add my girlfriend to my health insurance if we live together?

Employees typically can't add a boyfriend or girlfriend to their health insurance. “Normally, to obtain coverage under an employer's plan, a person would need to meet the definition in the benefit plan document for the spouse or domestic partner or dependent,” Lee says.

What is a qualified domestic partner?

Qualified domestic partner means a person who is in a domestic partnership that meets the criteria of California Family Code Section 297 and is formalized through registration with the California Secretary of State pursuant to California Family Code Sections 197 et.

Can I be on my boyfriend's health insurance if we live together?

Some insurance companies offer domestic partner health insurance. These plans allow your partner to have the same benefits that a spouse would be entitled to. Your partner can be covered under your plan, and any children the two of you have in your custody would also be covered.

Is a boyfriend considered a domestic partner?

A domestic partner can be broadly defined as an unrelated and unmarried person who shares common living quarters with an employee and lives in a committed, intimate relationship that is not legally defined as marriage by the state in which the partners reside.