As of May 2006, some children in New Jersey are eligible for coverage on their parents' insurance until age 30. The federal health care reform of 2010 extended benefits to age 26 nationwide, however, young people in New Jersey can still stay on their parents' plans until their 30th birthday.
State Law
In May 2006, the New Jersey State Legislature passed a bill that required insurers to allow young people to stay on their parents' health insurance until age 30. To qualify, children must be single (those married before age 30 may not continue on parents' insurance, but do receive better rates if filing jointly for insurance with their spouse), have no dependents, and either be a resident of New Jersey or enrolled full-time in a New Jersey educational institution.
Reasoning
The Legislature passed the May 2006 law in recognition of climbing numbers of uninsured young people. According to the Kaiser Foundation, Americans ages 19 to 29 have the highest uninsured rates of any age group, accounting for one third of all uninsured people in the U.S. in 2010. The bill was designed to help young adults who make too little on their own to pay for insurance or do not have an employer-backed insurance option.
Effects
Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, estimates that extending the age that young people can use their parents' insurance nationwide adds less than 1 percent to premiums. Supporters of the 18-to-30 law in New Jersey say that extending coverage actually helps insurance companies because it adds a pool of young and healthy individuals, many of whom would not pay premiums if they were not on their parents' plans.
National Reform
The national health care reform of 2010 extended the age which children can receive coverage through parents' plans to 26. The new rule is one of the ways that the reform attempts to address the climbing numbers of uninsured Americans; young people in particular were hit hard by the 2008 recession and few have access to comprehensive health insurance through employers.
National Reform and New Jersey Law
The national health care reform sets some new minimum standards for health care and especially health insurance nationwide. However, since these are minimums, any state law that goes above and beyond the reform will remain in effect. Hence, insurance requirements (New Jersey requires minors to be insured, and some states, such as Massachusetts, require all residents to be insured) and the18-to-30 law remain unaffected by the reform.
Tags: their parents, young people, health care, care reform, health care reform
