Thursday, April 12, 2012

Health Insurance for Young Adult Children 25 and Under ...

Health insurance for our young adult children leaves me confused. This is not meant to be political, I just need clarification.

When our first child graduated from high school, he was taking a gap year before college. Because he was not in college, he was not allowed to stay on our health insurance even though he was our dependent. We had to buy him separate insurance. Sometime that year the law changed, and young adults ages 25 and under -- whether they were in college or not -- could stay on their parents' insurance. So, our son jumped back onto our insurance for one year...until he got married at age 21.

He was self-employed so no insurance was provided, so he bought his own (only major medical, since that was all he could afford).

Since then, I have seen such a varied mix of situations.

For example, I have a nephew who has lived with his girlfriend for 2 years, they consider themselves permanent partners, and they both have good jobs. But, because they are 25, they are both still covered by their parents' health plans.

I have another nephew who isn't working at all, isn't in school, lives with his grandparents, and remains on his parents' health plan (which includes dental). He is 25, too.

The son of a friend is engaged to be married, has a great job with good benefits, but has declined the company's health plan because his mother's is better. He is 24.

I have another friend whose son is married (in another state) to his same-sex partner. Because he isn't considered legally married in his own state, he still remains on his parents' health care plan because he is only 23.

The boundaries seem so blurry, but the only thing I can really come up with is that if you're 25 and under, you can remain on your parents' health plan no matter what -- as long as you're not considered legally married; and if you are married -- even at age 18 -- you can't. Is that correct?

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