What does the "Birthday Rule" determine regarding children's insurance coverage?

The "Birthday Rule" is a guideline used in coordinating benefits for children when they are covered by insurance policies from both parents. According to this rule, the insurance policy of the parent whose birthday falls first in the calendar year is considered the primary insurance. This approach helps determine which parent's insurance will be responsible for covering the child's medical expenses first.

Choosing the policy based on the birth month ensures a straightforward and easily applicable method for determining primary coverage, as it provides a clear and invariant criterion that does not depend on income or other variable factors.

In practice, if one parent has a birthday in March and the other in July, the parent with the March birthday would have their insurance utilized first for any claims related to the child's healthcare costs. This method helps streamline billing processes and reduces confusion when coordinating benefits between multiple insurers.