Adding dependents to your health insurance plan

Adding your spouse as a dependent
In most cases, adding a spouse to your health insurance plan is acceptable. After getting married, you usually have up to 60 days to enroll in a new plan, or add your spouse as a dependent.
Keep in mind that if you or your spouse have access to employer-sponsored health insurance, but choose to buy your own family plan on a health insurance exchange, you likely will not qualify for Obamacare subsidies. To learn more about how health insurance works with marriage, keep reading here.

Additional Dependents
Besides your child and spouse, you can include other relatives as dependents under certain conditions, namely:

• If no one else has named them as a dependent
• If their gross annual income is less than $3,000
• If you are responsible for providing more than half of the financial support they rely on

In addition to relatives, you can include others who have lived in your house for at least a year, provided they meet all of the aforementioned criteria.

Coverage Considerations
Once you have named someone as your dependent, they will generally have access to the same plan or set of plans that you use. Depending on where you get your health insurance, they may also be able to choose among plans that you rely on. If you claim someone as a dependent, they will be able to enroll in either the health insurance plan or the dental plan, or they can enroll in both, according to the Small Business Administration.
eHealth is committed to helping you understand all the nuances of health coverage. For more information, visit eHealth.com, where you can tap into our information on health insurance or start looking at family health insurance plans.
This article is for general information only, and may not be updated after publication.