Health Insurers Commit to Providing Dependent Coverage Before Requirement Begins
Aetna and members of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association announced they will change their policies to allow young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance plans months before the new healthcare reform law requires them to do so.
Other carriers have announced plans to offer continuation benefits this spring, including Humana, Kaiser Permanente, UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint.
The new healthcare reform law will require plans to let young adults stay on their parents’ coverage until age 26. This provision is not effective until Sept. 23, 2010.
Some young adults, such as graduating seniors, face a coverage gap during the months before the provision is implemented.
The carriers’ move eliminates the gap in coverage until the provision begins. Graduating seniors who now obtain health coverage through their parents’ health insurance plans will now keep their coverage until they turn 26.
Employers that offer self-insured plans administered by the carriers can decide for themselves whether to offer early access to continuation benefits.
