Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois announced a new coverage option yesterday for Child-only policies.  

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an Interim Final Rule determining that provisions limiting the application of pre-existing condition exclusions for children under 19 means that all children under 19 who apply for insurance for which they are eligible on or after Sept. 23, 2010, cannot be denied coverage.  In other words, the policies for children under 19 must be “guaranteed issue.”