Special Enrollment

[Miner88]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the following:

A plan requires documentation verifying the eligibility of a dependent before the dependent may enroll in the plan (eg. marriage license, birth certificate, etc.) Under the special enrollment rules, if a "request for enrollment" is received within 30 days (or longer if the plan allows) of the event (marriage, birth, adoption or placement for adoption), coverage must begin no later than the first day of the first calendar month beginning after the date the plan receives the "request for special enrollment" for marriage and on the date of the event for birth, adoption and placement for adoption.

What is a "request for special enrollment?" Can the plan require that the dependent verification documentation be submitted within the 30 days (i.e. consider that documentation part of the "request")? Or must the plan enroll the dependent based only on a status change form that is received within 30 days even though the verification documentation is not also provided?