Question: I’m the primary carrier (insured). And we will be losing our current family insurance coverage in December. My wife’s open enrollment is October and one of our family members has a preexisting condition and we don’t mind paying both premiums for the 2 months….so is it better to wait for our current insurance coverage to stop in December and add onto my wife’s insurance then as a “qualifying event”? or should we just add onto my wife’s insurance in October and carry both insurances until we lose our coverage in December?

Answer: There is no need to pay for two health plans. Wait until your group health coverage expires in December and apply for coverage on your wife’s group plan to be effective January 1, 2013. You are correct: your loss of group coverage is a qualifying event.