Prior to passage of the Affordable Care Act (formerly known as healthcare reform legislation), once young adults graduated from high school or college, their options for healthcare coverage were limited to employer coverage, university-sanctioned coverage or individual policies.
The new law provides a new option for young adults - inclusion in their family's policy.
While that may sound fairly straightforward, implementation of this part of reform is multi-faceted. Whether you are the young adult, or the parent of a young adult, you'll want to better understand when and how this part of the law will affect you.
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions to help you better understand the provisions in this new part of the law. These answers have come from two sources: A conversation with Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, and from materials provided by the White House, linked below.
Q. What does the law mean by "young adult"?
A. Young adults are people who have not yet reached their 26th birthday. The new law includes any young adult who would have been included on a family plan, like a child or step-child.
Q. When does the young adult section of the Affordable Care Act take effect?
A. The law requires this aspect of the law be put into effect by September 23, 2010.
However, anticipating that millions of young people would be graduating from high school and college, and leaving their parents' coverage during spring and summer 2010, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, called on large insurers and large self-insured corporations across the country to commit to providing these young adults coverage during the "gap" period between their graduation and September 23. More than 65 insurers and businesses agreed to do so.
A list of the insurers offering this gap coverage can be found in this fact sheet from HHS.
Q. If my insurer is not listed on the fact sheet, but my adult child will need coverage between now and then, what can we do to get coverage?
A. As time goes on, new insurers may decide to offer this earlier coverage as well. Contact your insurer to ask.
Q. If my child is added to my insurance plan, will my premiums go up? Will I have to pay more?
A. If the parents have family coverage and the adult child would have been included in that plan at a younger age
Q. What if my child was already dropped from my insurance? Will we be able to put him or her back on our plan?
A. Yes. Not only will adult children already dropped from coverage have an opportunity to be added back on, the insurers may not charge extra just because the child was previously dropped. This provision is also subject to the September 23, 2010 date, but some insurers are already implementing this addition. If your insurer is not listed on the fact sheet, call them to ask when your child will be eligible.
Q. My 24-year-old has a job with an employer who offers coverage, but it's very expensive for him to pay the premiums. Can I put him back on my coverage instead?
Link here for the answer to this and several more questions.
