<p>Help me out here (please). I know this topic has been discussed before, but a search found nothing. Most of our company provided health insurance policies cover kids over 18 only if they are full time students. What do you do about a part time student (no job with benefits) or a kid taking a gap year who is not eligible under his parent’s health insurance policy? Google brought up lots of insurance companies, but who can I trust?? Anyone have a good provider of this type of policy? I want high deductible disaster type medical insurance. I am not concerned about paying several $hundred or even $thousand for doctor visits or prescriptions. What I need (and what everyone needs) is protection from financial ruin if an unexpected situation required $100s of thousands in medical expenses.</p>
<p>Golden Rule specializes in this kind of coverage. Go to goldenrulehealth.com.</p>
<p>Check the blues in your state. Most should have individual coverage. If cost is a concern, use a higher deductible. There are also short term policies on the market. Check with your state ins commissioner’s office. Before you buy always check to see if product is approved for your state. If you buy an insurance product that is not approved for your state and you have a problem, you’re on your own. And it does happen, alot.</p>
<p>goldenrulehealth apparently does not offer health insurance in NJ (at least this is what the website said when I entered NJ).</p>
<p>On the state plan, i.e. if you are a state employee, in NJ, if your child lives at home, even if they are not in school, they can remain on your insurance through age 24, and I believe this age is scheduled to raise in the near future. Talk to your general insurance provider (car/house,etc), they may have a high deductible plan for young single. The blues typically have a police which plateaus rates every five years, but it may require a basic physical before coverage. Good luck. Lorelei</p>
<p>Please just start with your ins commissioners office and see what products are available. Each state is different. Review your own health insurance policy if you have one, and check to see what age your son drops off. Some now do not require student status, just dependent. As I said EVERY state is different, call your state office and they will guide you.</p>
<p>Check with your company’s HR department. They should at the very least be eligible for COBRA which would give them 18 months of coverage which you must pay for. In Massachusetts, the law recently changed and dependents can now in most circumstances be covered until the age of 25.</p>
<p>Cobra is VERY expensive to carry a single person - I know there are other options out there - searching ourselves for a soon to be off insurance kiddo.</p>
<p>Question here - we will have a situation starting this summer - kiddo falls off of our insurance on her b’day - she will only be 22 - and no coverage as soon as they graduate - kiddo will be moving around the country - no real place of residence - spending a couple/few months in different places - so… we are seeking info on a health insurance plan that will cover her in that respect - tho her present legal residence is - for now - where we live.</p>
<p>Any ideas??</p>
<p>Good news! NJ passed a new law this past year. Up to age 30, a dependant can stay on his/her parent’s health insurance by paying a percentage of the single premium according to the contract. Certain rules apply. Check with your insurer. Another option is Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield’s EPO plan.</p>
<p>We looked into this recently. Blue Cross of California had a whole line of plans for that age group. I would assume that if you have Blue Cross in your state it would be similar. The benefits are based on the needs of that age group.
The nice thing about Blue Cross PPO is that you can use it in any state.
Also with our plan if the child is under 19 they are covered regardless if they are in school. Also as long as they are a dependent on your taxes our plan covered them till 23.</p>
<p>you might also check local university or chosen college alumni sites, they often list plans available</p>
<p>I am in the business, please contact your state insurance commissioner’s office for a list of companies. Just ask, they’ll help. So far, I read several sorta kinda answers to things that aren’t quite right.</p>
<p>Understand a dependent is someone YOU place on your tax return and take the deduction for. </p>
<p>There are many companies that offer short term major medical that will cover someone out of state for emergency purposes. Since each state has it’s own particular health care laws, plans are created on a state by state basis, so the primary state of purchase is what the coverage is designed around. However, I know of no plan that does not cover emergencies, it doens’t mean there aren’t. </p>
<p>Read your copy of your health plan on dependent eligibility. Many have reworded coverage to extend to 22-25 years without school. However, remember dependent status and call your state office, they will help.</p>
<p>Actually in MA, A dependent is eligible to stay on their parent’s insurance for two years following the loss of dependent status or until age 26, whichever comes first. This part of the new health care bill. A full-time student may also stay covered until age 26. There are federal tax consequences if the insurance is employer pay all in the form of inputed income to the employee. If the portion to pay the non- Code Sec 152 dependent is paid with after tax dollars, there will be no inputed income.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies! Opie, never occurred to me to contact the state, but I will try that. mmom… new law in NJ? I will check that out as well. I know cobra is available but very expensive. My provider is Empire bluecross/blueshield.</p>
<p>Opie,
Since you are in the business, would you mind explaining to me how pre-existing conditions apply? My son has Type 1 diabetes and it sounds like we need to roll him over to a conversion plan from our policy to keep him covered. He graduates in May and will be taking a year off before starting grad school - I have checked into our coverage and our only option is to convert him to his own plan for another $4o/month for a total of $280/month (one of the drawbacks of self employment!). I am assuming that buying individual coverage from another company would be next to impossible because of the diabetes. I thought that a law had been passed to prevent insurance companies from not covering individuals based on pre-existing conditions? </p>
<p>Thanks for your help and to Njres for starting the topic.</p>
<p>I don’t know your state’s pre ex laws, but for sure call the state today. See if your state has portability rules (time sensitive…call today) that allow him to move from your plan to another w/o pre ex being a factor. In WA, a person has a 90 day window to wing walk. However, in WA the plan designs are factored in to the process so a person can’t go from a low benefits plan to a high one. They can limit those higher benefits and they can restrict group to individual. </p>
<p>It may be very true that it’s hard to buy individual in your state. Is there a state pool? </p>
<p>Please make that call today to your state insurance commissioner’s office. I know at least in WA, they can be very helpful. They can’t reccommend one company over another, but they should be able to give you a general directions. </p>
<p>Each state has it’s own set of rules for insurance. It is always a good idea to contact your state’s ins commissioner’s office to get the actual laws as they apply to your situation. </p>
<p>Health insurance is going to be a fulid situation for the next few years as many states will be toying with the idea of some sort of government plan. Stay tuned.</p>