I have an employee who used to work full-time but now works part-time. They are still eligible for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Can they change their health insurance coverage because of this change in their work hours?

When a full-time employee changes to part-time status, the following rules apply:

• The employee is allowed to waive (drop) their health insurance coverage at the time of the status change.
• If the employee chooses to keep their coverage, they can only keep the same coverage they had at the time of the change.
• They cannot make changes or add new coverage unless:
  1. They experience a qualifying event (such as marriage, birth of a child, or loss of other coverage), or
  2. They are still eligible and make changes during the Annual Enrollment period for the next year’s coverage. 

Special Notes

• If a full-time employee declined health insurance when they were hired and later changes to part-time, they are not eligible to enroll in coverage at that time.
• Part-time employees who are age 65 or older are excluded from these rules because they are eligible for Medicare.