Birth, Adoption, Legal Custody or Guardianship
Qualifying Life Event
If you become a biological or adoptive parent or if you gain or lose legal custody or guardianship of a child, you’ll have 30 days to request conditional changes to your State Health and NCFlex benefits. That 30-day window starts on the date the child is born or adopted or the date you gained or lost legal custody or guardianship.
Effective Date of Coverage
The effective date for changes to State Health Plan benefits and some NC Flex benefits is the date of the child’s birth or adoption or the date you gained or lost legal custody or guardianship.
Important Note: You can add a newborn to your State Health Plan or NCFlex benefits without a valid Social Security number, but the child’s Social Security number must be added by the time your dependent is 6 months old. Failure to add a social security number within 6 months of birth will result in termination of the child’s coverage(s) by the State Health Plan or NCFlex.
Required Documents
If you want to make changes to your benefits due to the birth or adoption of a child or because you gained or lost legal custody or guardianship of a child, you will need to provide one of the documents listed below in support of your request.
- Birth: The birth of your biological child, including the child of same gender spouses.
- An official birth certificate
- An official Verification of Facts document
- State Health Plan QLE Documentation
- NCFlex QLE Documentation
- Adoption: The legal adoption of a child or the placement of a child for adoption or in anticipation of legal adoption.
- International adoption papers from the country of adoption
- Official adoption agreement for the dependent being added from the adoption agency showing intent to adopt
- State Health Plan QLE Documentation
- NCFlex QLE Documentation
- Foster Care: The legal placement of a child with you for foster care.
- Official State Agreement for placement specific to the dependent(s) being added
- State Health Plan QLE Documentation
- NCFlex QLE Documentation
- Legal Guardianship: Defined as a child for whom the subscriber has become the child’s court-ordered guardian or has been awarded legal and physical custody of the child, pursuant to a valid court order.
- Court documents signed by a judge verifying legal custody of the child
- State Health Plan QLE Documentation
- NCFlex QLE Documentation
How To Request Changes and Upload Documents
You can request changes to your benefits due to a qualifying event and submit documents in support of your request through the employee benefits enrollment portal, via MyPack portal.