"Qualifying life events" allow you to make midyear changes to your health care coverage that you normally wouldn't be allowed to make. Qualifying life events include:

Special enrollment rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) allow you and your eligible dependents to change to another county medical plan at the time of a qualifying life event, provided you're receiving medical coverage as an:

If you have a qualifying life event, you and your eligible dependents may either:

The special enrollment rights also allow you to change to another county medical plan when you or a covered dependent reach the lifetime maximum for your medical benefits under your existing medical coverage.

To enroll in another medical plan, you must make the change online within 30 days of the qualifying life event.

If you add a spouse or domestic partner, you must complete the Marriage/Domestic Partnership form, which contains an Affidavit of Marriage/Domestic Partnership, online. If you want, you may also submit a copy of your marriage certificate.

When completing the Marriage/Domestic Partnership form, you'll need to elect the benefit access fee option that applies to your situation. If you don't make an election, you'll automatically be charged the $35 benefit access fee to cover a spouse/domestic partner when he/she has access to other medical coverage.

Except for birth or placement for adoption, you must complete the Add/Change Dependent form online within 30 days of a qualifying life event to add an eligible dependent for health care coverage, which includes medical, dental and vision coverage.

When you add an eligible dependent within 30 days, your dependent's coverage begins on the first of the month after the qualifying life event occurs. If you don't complete the online form within 30 days, you must wait until the next annual open enrollment to add the eligible dependent for coverage.

At this time, you may enroll in a new flexible spending account (FSA) or adjust the amount of an existing FSA online. (For more information, see Flexible Spending Accounts.)

A newborn is automatically covered under the mother's health care plan for the first three weeks. You have 60 days to enroll a newborn or a newly adopted child for health care (medical, dental and vision) coverage. Coverage will be retroactive to the child's birth or adoption placement date. However, because you have only 30 days to make changes to supplemental life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) coverage, it's highly recommended that you complete the Birth/Adoption form online within 30 days of birth or placement for adoption to take advantage of your life/AD&D change options.

When Benefits and Retirement Operations receives a QMCSO, the child is automatically added for coverage according to the terms of the document—you don't need to complete the Add/Change Dependent form online.

If you previously opted out of medical coverage, you must submit an Opt in for Health Coverage form within 30 days of losing health care coverage through another employer if you want to opt back into the county's health care plans. You must provide proof of loss of coverage when you submit the form. If you don't submit the form within 30 days, you may not opt back in until the next annual open enrollment.

If you opted out when you first became eligible for county benefits because you had COBRA coverage, the COBRA coverage must be exhausted before you can opt back into county coverage midyear; you can also opt in during the annual open enrollment. For other than COBRA coverage, you may opt in if your loss of coverage is due to:

You may continue medical, dental and vision coverage for a child past age 23 if the child:

To continue coverage, you need to submit a Continue Coverage for Disabled Adult Child form six months before the child turns age 23 or no later than 30 days after the child turns age 23.