GRANDMOTHERING…YOU MAY BE ABLE TO KEEP YOUR INDIVIDUAL OR SMALL GROUP PLAN ANOTHER YEAR
On March 5, 2014, the Obama Administration announced an extension of Non-Grandfathered Plans through October 2016 – even if the plans do not meet the minimum benefits required under federal health care reform. States were given the option to adopt the extension through 2016 renewals, as well as the ability to decide how they would implement the extension.
The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) released a bulletin on May 19th detailing that Colorado carriers can extend non-grandfathered individual and small group plans, but only through the end of 2015. The extension of these plans has quickly taken on the nickname of “grandmothering”. Grandmothering applies to policies that were last renewed or issued prior to January 1, 2014. Plans that were renewed or discontinued prior to the issuance of the May 19th bulletin cannot be reinstated and non-compliant plans cannot be sold to new customers.
Note that carriers are not required to continue their non-compliant plans, but may choose to do so. Carriers that choose to extend plans must follow the DOI's standard procedures for rate filing and approval, which includes a 60-day review period. As a result, most plans with anniversaries between January 2014 and August 2014 won’t be able to take advantage of the extension.
