Employment status change and open enrollment; Final 125 regs.

[Guest Jim Simons]

Final regs allow a medical plan member to drop coverage midyear to join spouse's coverage due to spouse's open enrollment. Assume spouse had previously been eligible to join own group plan but did not. As a late enrollee the spouse has not revoked an election. So should employee be allowed to drop coverage and join spouse's plan?

[Lisa Hand]

Please give us a bit more information. Is the spouse able to make elections at any time during the year? If it is not during the spouse's open enrollment, how would that valid change of status event apply?

[Guest Jim Simons]

In this example, the spouse and employee can change or make an election only during their respective open enrollment periods (which do not coincide) unless there's a qualifying section 125 midyear event.

My question is whether a valid change has occurred, i.e., is the spouse's open enrollment election by itself now considered a qualifying event.