Exactly. My kid was covered until the first day of the month after he turned 26.
In addition, he was also eligible for COBRA policy. Of course, since he could enroll in his company’s plan @ $100/ month it was unnecessary to do that. But I can see some electing to do that if they needed to see certain doctors, specialists etc, who might not be covered under other plans - even though COBRA premium is very expensive.
I have no idea if other companies allow that. I just know that NYS employees kids over 26 are eligible for that.
If your oldest child gets a job and elects their health insurance, then that insurance will be primary and the one through the parents will be secondary. Otherwise he will need to decline his employer’s health insurance with proof of parent’s health insurance in order to continue only with parents plan. Once he turns 26 and no longer is allowed to be on the parent’s health insurance, he will be able to access his health insurance through work with proof of termination from parent’s insurance regardless of the time of the year. It is always best to contact the current health insurance for any questions but this is what happens with most commercial fully funded plans through employers. Now this may not be the case if the insurance is a limited plan, Ministry plans, self funded plans etc… it is best to get a copy of the plan guidelines as every plan is different.
My son lives in a different state than me. (He relocated to Boston after he graduated). According to my health insurance all of his care would be out of network with no maximum out of pocket.
Currently I’m dropping him from my insurance and I will pay the premiums for his employer sponsored plan. (The difference is only $40 per month.
It was quite sobering to know that even with insurance a broken leg could still be a hardship at out of network prices.
Also your kids can stay covered under your plan, but your grandkids won’t be covered. So if your covered kid has a baby, the baby will need to be on a different plan. If expensive problems come up at birth that can be a big issue, so plan ahead.
Ouch, seems expensive. In the expensive area I live in, my semi-annual dental bills (before insurance pay) listed between about $130 (cleaning only) and $270 (cleaning with exam and bite wing X-rays).
For comparison, the employer at the time was paying about $700 per year for dental coverage employee benefit.
I agree, insurance is a contract. One has to contact the current insurer to see what coverage they provide and conditions for retaining it. No one else’s experiences or opinions matter.
Our S was kicked off our family policy when he aged our, turning 22 in SR year. We had to buy him Insurance with his U. It covered him Aug-Aug. Then we had to buy a policy month to month from when his policy ended in Aug until 12/31. Once Obamacare was in effect he was again covered from 1/1 until he 30 or 60 days after he turned 26.
In our case, our BCBS insurer didn’t care where he lived (5000 miles away), that he was totally self-supporting, that he was working full time and employer offered excellent subsidized insurance. His aging off our plan was a qualifying event for him to purchase insurance and it was also open season.
I have heard of other people whose kids lost coverage once they married.
I’d get whatever the coverage is in writing as to under what conditions the person is covered and what makes coverage end. They should be able to point to the portion of the policy covering this.
This is a very useful thread for me. My oldest is graduating this year and she already warned me she’s staying on our insurance till she’s 26. I really didn’t consider closely that our insurance could be significantly better then what she will get. Both kids are on their own university plans which are very good with really low deductibles. Will have to really compare the plans closely when she gets her first after college job. Didn’t really think about this, like this.
Honestly, you need to check with your carrier. And their policies, and rates, and networks.
Our S who graduated college in 2015 was gainfully employed immediately after graduation, with (federal) benefits available to him. Our family benefits through H’s employer were better, though, and were available to S until age 26. He could use the carrier’s “nationwide network” since he lived out of our state. So no issues there. And the premium difference between Employee+Spouse vs Employee+Family wasn’t too big for us.
He turned 26 this past April and we were ready for him to leave our plan (as D did a couple years ago, the month that she turned 26) - when…surprise! H’s employer made a policy change covering dependents until the end of the calendar year in which the dependent turned 26!!
So, S’s coverage through his employer will start in January.
Depends on the policy. D1 is on our plan, even though she is married. She’s a dental student and has no job. She gets cut off the day she turns 26 and will pick up the school plan which is almost as good as ours (H is a community college professor).