In January 2018, the State of New Jersey updated the existing NJ Newborn Mandate that provides health coverage for all newborns from the moment of birth for the first 31 days to provide coverage from the moment of birth for the first 60 days. The newborn child of a subscriber or his/her spouse will be covered for necessary care, injury and sickness. Please note, this mandate does not apply to newborns of dependent children.
For coverage beyond the 60 days, most plans require the subscriber to notify the health plan or Human Resources of the birth and the addition of the newborn to the policy. The subscriber may incur additional premium costs for this addition.
For all fully insured groups, the mandate will be applied on renewal on or after January 16, 2018. For self-funded health plans on renewal on or after January 16, 2018, these plans are not subject to the NJ Mandate and may opt-in or out of this requirement.
For more information about this NJ Newborn Mandate, please contact our office. If you currently offer a self-funded health plan and wish to opt-in to this NJ Newborn Mandate, please note, a notification to employees about this new benefit, will need to be distributed. At Innovative, we are committed to ensuring that our clients and their employees are kept abreast of any new regulations that may affect their medical plan.
