Are Stepchildren Considered as Dependents for Health Insurance?

Webster defines stepchildren as belonging to your former partner, who fails to receive proper care and attention. The social stigma attached to this word is too heavy to be changed overnight. The least you can do is secure their health along with your child so that they do not suffer from financial inadequacy. Forget about the commoners even the famous or rather the infamous do not talk about their stepchildren. There are famous personalities who made headlines with their success and downfall stories, happens to have stepchildren.  Sadly, these children do not receive enough accolades or attention as the focus tends to be on the word ‘step’ rather than ‘children’.

As securing the health of your children is imperative, be it biological or step, let’s not deprive the stepchildren of the benefits they can enjoy by being a part of your health insurance policy. In this article we’ll discuss the rules for adding stepchildren into your existing health insurance policy. Keep reading!

Health Insurance for Stepchildren

Thankfully, the law does not differentiate as much as the society. The dependents' eligibility to be included in your coverage and enjoy the benefits of the policy is the same for step-children and natural borns. You need not worry about whether are stepchildren considered dependents for health insurance or not.  However, once a child reaches the age of 26 years or is married is not eligible to be a dependent. 

The basic requirements to add a child under your health insurance plan are:

Age: A child needs to be under 26 years old and unmarried to enjoy dependent benefits.

Relationship: The eligibility of the relationship includes a biological child, a stepchild, and a legally adopted child. If the child has step-siblings and half-siblings, they can also claim to be dependent on your health cover. 

Staying Together: The child must stay with you for 6 months or more to claim as your dependent. If your stepchild or adopted child is not living in the same residence or is living with you for less than 6 months, they cannot be added as dependent to your policy cover.

Income: Does health insurance cover stepchildren if their income is more than their support expenses? Definitely not. The support finance should be half their expenses including education to show them as dependent on your health policy.

Miscellaneous: Only one child per household is allowed as a dependent in your health plan. If the child is already added to his or her biological parent's dependent list, you as a stepfather or mother cannot show the child in the dependent list. 

Tax Return File: In case your children jointly file tax returns with you, they cannot be shown as your dependent in any insurance plan. 

Registered Marriage: The wedding between the biological parent and step-parent must be legally acknowledged to add a stepchild as a dependent in your health plan.

>> Also Read: Health Insurance for Children

Can Stepchildren be Added to Health Insurance under the Government Scheme?

The government schemes provide healthcare benefits for hospitalisation and in-home healthcare, maternity and childcare services for central government employees, pensioners and even children who draw pension post-employee demise including their minor siblings.

For male children, the eligibility for dependency is a maximum of 25 years of age, or till he starts earning or gets married whichever is earlier. For a female child, the eligibility extends until she gets married or starts earning, despite the age. The dependent child must reside with the government employee registered under the health scheme.

If stepchildren are dependent on the health scheme card holder and fulfil the other eligibility criteria just like biologically dependent children, then they can avail all the benefits.

How to Add Stepchildren to Your Existing Policy?

The best and safest way is to check with your existing provider and follow the necessary process for documentation. More so in case your stepchild is permanently disabled mentally or physically, then it is prudent to add him/her to your coverage list. Depending on the insurer, the premium might increase but it will save you from purchasing a new and separate health cover. All you need to do is submit the legal proof and their name, date of birth, relationship proof etc. to get them enrolled.

Ending Note

As you can see there is hardly any extra hassle you need to face to include your stepchildren in your health care benefit list. All the insurance provider needs to know is the legal guardianship status at the time of application. With such a simple process in place and so many variants of healthcare products, it would just be unfair not to do the obvious. For further details, do not forget to liaise with your specific providers to support children who might not be borne by you but have equal rights to all the benefits that your biological children have.

Disclaimers: All plan features, benefits, coverage, and claims underwriting are subject to policy terms and conditions. Kindly refer to the brochure, sales prospectus, and policy documents carefully.