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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Regence dropping child-only insurance policies

Carrier will still honor existing plans

Rachel La Corte Associated Press

OLYMPIA – Regence BlueShield announced Tuesday that it will stop selling new child-only individual insurance policies by the end of this week.

The move comes less than a week after several provisions of the federal health care overhaul went into effect, including one that prevents insurance companies from excluding children with potentially costly pre-existing conditions.

Regence BlueShield is the first plan to stop selling child-only individual plans in Washington state, effective Friday. Several health insurers, including UnitedHealth Group Inc., Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc., already said they would stop selling new child-only individual insurance policies in other states, although those children can still get coverage through a family plan in the individual market.

Premera Blue Cross, the leading private insurer in the Spokane region, said Tuesday that it was monitoring the changes.

“For now, we are selling child-only policies, and it’s our desire to continue to do so,” said Eric Earling, a Premera spokesman. “Given the new health care law, however, it’s important that all major carriers share the risk and costs.”

Individual insurance is coverage that is not offered through an employer, and includes both single and family coverage.

Regence spokeswoman Rachelle Cunningham said that only about 3 percent of their policies in Washington state are child-only individual plans, and that those won’t be affected.

“They’re not a very common thing,” she said. “We provide coverage for a majority of children through family policies.”