<p>Thank you Calmom for this clear thinking! I am going to let my son remain off my policy for the 6 months it is supposed to take til September when I can add him back on. I’m surprised I can’t find anything official about this on the web or through my company’s HR dept. Wouldn’t you think the HSS website would reveal the regulations around this new law by now?</p>
<p>^^The regulations have yet to be written! That’s up to the regulatory agency that will oversee the implementation of the law.</p>
<p>At this point, I plan to help our son find a good short term policy on the open market. eHealth.com is a good starting point. We can insure our son for less than $100 a month.</p>
<p>
No way – that would be impossible – the federal Health and Human Services regulations probably can’t be finalized for at least 120 days. The reason that implementation of the law has to be deferred for 6 months is that the regulatory process takes a while. I don’t know the specific time lines, but proposed regulations have to be drafted, released for public comment, revised accordingly, etc. I think the only way something could take place immediately would be through some sort of executive order – which might be appropriate if the administration got wind of insurance companies doing something deliberately to subvert the law (such as mass rescission of policies now to avoid having to insure families with in September) – but that would be deciding issues by fiat rather than following the orderly regulatory process. </p>
<p>And the insurance companies probably have to wait until the federal regulations shape up before finalizing their own policy decisions. Obviously they know what they can do that will be safely within the new law – but they have the same questions you do, only they may also be actively working or lobbying with the Dept of HHS to try to advocate for regulations they feel would be more favorable or workable.</p>
<p>
I wouldn’t recommend that your son go bare for the next 6 months – a lot can happen in that time. I also don’t know if the ban on exclusions for pre-existing conditions that applies to “children” will apply to young adults in their 20s – they may be treated as “children” for purposes of coverage but “adults” for purpose of the pre-existing condition issue. </p>
<p>I’d suggest looking for a high-deductible, short term plan. Something that will cover him for 6 months and will pay costs in the event of an accident or unexpected serious illness.</p>
<p>I agree with Calmom. I think you do not want to have a break in coverage. Get some sort of coverage while waiting.</p>
<p>You might find this web site interesting:
[url=<a href=“http://www.regulations.gov%5DRegulations.gov%5B/url”>http://www.regulations.gov]Regulations.gov[/url</a>]</p>
<p>If you click the box for “HHS” (Health and Human services) in the drop down box on the left side of the page, you can pull up a list of regulations currently open for public comment. On the right side of the page you will see the date the regulation was posted; on the left, underneath the description of the regulation, you will see the deadline for submitting a comment. </p>
<p>This is a government run site, and “public” means … you. If you look at a reg that is open for comments and you have an opinion, click the link on the right labeled “submit a comment”. Type away. Share your story or your concern. (Note: submitting a comment doesn’t mean that anyone important will actually read it. There are thousands of comments. I assume that there are junior level employees or interns who are charged with the job of reading through the comments and then summarizing them for their superiors. So it is probably best to keep your comments short, to the point, and concrete.)</p>
<p>Yes, I know better than to let my son go insurance-free. Son is on his own high deductible, emergency insurance plan until the new regulation allows me to re-instate him on my policy at work. We took care of that as soon as he was dumped last month. My query was whether I will find out in September that in fact, he had to be cobra’d on my policy the whole time in order to be re-instated. I asked that question to HR but they do not know. I can’t afford $500+/month for 6 months if no one can tell me I really need to do this — the individual policy he has (while not as good) is only $100.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your insights!</p>
<p>Does anyone know when we should expect to find the details for the new health regulations concerning under 27 year olds? I keep scouring the internet but nothing in the way of facts have emerged to help with decision making. Do we think these new regs will not appear until the 6 month benchmark???</p>
<p>In light of the new legislation, many employers are considering one of two options with respect to “adult” children:</p>
<ol>
<li> Changing their “family” coverage so that you will pay more for every additional child you add to the policy coverage OR</li>
<li> Carving children who have graduated from college and who are 26 years old or under out from family coverage, and charging all or almost all of the incremental rate charged to the employer for covering that child.</li>
</ol>
<p>The employment and employee benefits attorneys which whom I work have related this information to me (and others), and have noted that it is almost every corporate client who is considering these measures. My understanding from them is that these changes are being considered across industries and across America. (Keep in mind that employers will not be required to provide this coverage until the first open enrollment period that occurs after the implementation date of the legislation next autumn – so for many, no coverage until 2011 at the earliest.)</p>
<p>Therefore, I think what you need to consider is whether it makes more sense for your children who have graduated from college to obtain their own insurance, or to pay what may effectively be COBRA-like rates for their coverage yourself.</p>
<p>I looked into the high-deductible young adult policies. I am not willing to take a chance on these. The upper limits aren’t all that high and the deductibles are about $5K for most of them. Basically, it is a catastrophe policy, and it better not be a HUGE catastrophe. I am going to give COBRA to my son for graduation. It will be about 5 months until he starts his job in August and gets coverage in November. My family rate will go down with him coming off, so the net expense to us is about $300 a month for his COBRA. THere is no prescription coverage under the young adult policies I looked at, either.</p>
<p>sallyawp-
I’ve been following this avidly on another thread here on CC and in real life.
My understanding (could be wrong I admit) is that company could not charge more for a young adult being added to the plan than for any other child being added.</p>
<p>So, I don’t follow your statement about:</p>
<p>“Carving children who have graduated from college and who are 26 years old or under out from family coverage, and charging all or almost all of the incremental rate charged to the employer for covering that child.”</p>
<p>Our adult son was covered as PART of my family coverage. Did not matter how many children were included in immediate family. He aged out at 23. My understanding is that he will be able to be added back probably in Jan 2011 for whatever the family rate is at that time. Could be more than it used to be of course but better coverage than his current high ded indiv plan we bought him.</p>
<p>Here is that NY Times article I was reading on the other thread:</p>
<p>[Rules</a> Let Youths Stay on Parents? Insurance - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Rules Let Youths Stay on Parents’ Insurance - The New York Times”>Rules Let Youths Stay on Parents’ Insurance - The New York Times)</p>
<p>From the article:</p>
<p>The health department estimated that the average cost to cover each new enrollee would be $3,380 in 2011, $3,500 in 2012 and $3,690 in 2013.</p>
<p>The cost will be borne by all families with employer-sponsored insurance, with family premiums expected to rise by about 1 percent, the government said. </p>
<hr>
<p>If you have a child already on your plan, then there is already some cost so I’d expect changing age wouldn’t mean much of a rate change. Might be higher or lower. If the child isn’t on the plan, then I suppose that the premium for the employer could go up by the costs listed above. The comment on prices expected to rise by 1% seems to imply the former.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The information I have been given could turn out to be incorrect, but as the law is written right now, and until implementing regulations have been drafted and circulated for public comment, it would be permissible for employers to charge as much as they want for children who must be covered under their policies but who have graduated from college.</p>
<p>In fact, there is nothing other than market dynamics to prevent employers from charging all of their employees full price for their health insurance (or at least for the health insurance of the employee’s family and covered dependents). I don’t believe that the new legislation is designed to regulate the prices that employers can charge their employees for their health care coverage. </p>
<p>Many companies are indeed considering the changes to their health insurance policies that I mentioned. Again, there is nothing to prohibit this in the passed legislation. Based upon the anecdotal evidence I am seeing for some very large companies, “family” coverage will at some time in the not-so-distant future go the way of the do-do bird. Instead, it will cost $X to cover yourself (the employee), $X plus $X times some multiplier (usually around 1.5) to cover your spouse, $X plus some amount to cover 1 child, an additional amount for a second child, an additional amount for a third child, etc. until at some point the employee maxes out on contributions. This will certainly hurt those with larger families, but will potentially benefit those with smaller families. </p>
<p>In addition, many of these companies are considering charging full freight (or close to it) for the post-college but under 27 children we have been discussing.</p>
<p>If the regulations that will be enacted do contain restrictions on employers’ ability to do these things, than, of course, employers will have to comply.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is NOT what I’m hearing. The employers actually are NOT allowed to charge a different family premium for college grads on the family plan that for anyone ELSE who has a family plan. In other words…if my colleague has a 21 year old college student and a family plan…MY family plan with my 22 year old college grad MUST cost the same…no difference in cost. </p>
<p>As noted…it is expected that the cost of that family plan will increase by about 1%.</p>
<p>My large employer, a health care system, actually does already charge employees differently for health insurance for their dependents.
Complany pays entire cost of employee. Employee plus spouse costs XXX$.
Employee,spouse and one child costs YYY$$. Employee,spouse and two OR MORE children costs ZZZZZZ$$$$$. So, families with three or more children pay the same as families with only two. There is also an employee and dependent child only option for single parents. So I agree, that companies will probably package their employee insurance differently in the future.
The NY Times article suggested that the young adults would be charged similarly to any other ‘child’. We will see what really shakes out by the end of this year.</p>
<p>Mine is the same way - you pay by the person. It seems to me to be the fair way to do it.</p>
<p>Yes…you pay by the person where I work too…We pay a %%age of the plan we opt for…single, two person, or family. My point is…a family plan provided by your employer that includes your college grad cannot cost more than a family plan that others buy from your employer. SO…if you are paying for a family plan now (paying whatever the employer currently requires you to pay)…the employer cannot impose a different rate structure on you because you now have a college grad…the college grad would continue until age 26 as a member of your plan with whatever payment arrangement everyone else has who has dependents on their plan.</p>
<p>I see it the same as you, thumper1.
The ‘family’ option would now include young adults till age 26 at same rate as other younger children in the family.</p>
<p>OK, another question. Is the coverage in the new plan UNTIL age 26, as in until they turn 26 years old? OR is it THROUGH age 26, as in until their 27th birthday?
I have seen it written different ways.
Does anyone know this aspect of the new coverage?</p>
<p>I believe it is until they turn 26. I have a kiddo who will be 26 in the fall…he will not ever be able to be put back on my plan…he’ll age out on his birthday…unless I’m wrong…oh wouldn’t that be great!!!</p>