Just starting this thread about health care when kids true 26 so that the retirement money thread can get back on topic!
I’ll start. When one kid turned 26, we had Anthem. His coverage continued to the last day of the month in which his birthday was. Then he got an individual policy which was a fraction of the cost of COBRA.
Second kid…we had Cigna. Her coverage ended on midnight the day of her birthday. She also got an individual policy. Again…cobra would have been at least twice the price.
DD’s coverage ended the month after her 26th because there was an added month grace. Butsince she was in an extended medicaid state she qualified for that while in grad school. They did not make her take loans for the school insurance. When she moves trhis summer she will need to change that since the new state has resisted the extended medicaid.
Are the new policies of the same level as the previous? Do the kids still have a multi state extended network and the same list of in network doctors? If the parent was covering the child through an employer policy and the child is now in the individual market the new policy may be shockingly minimal in comparison. Also, many doctors are not taking Medicaid (Medical).
Truth in advertising statement: This above holds for the CA market.
We did not buy off the exchange. Policies were very similar in coverage to what was had on our family policies.
OH…I should add…
When the first child aged out, we still had one kid on our plan…so no change in price for us. It was still a family plan.
When the second kid aged out, DH’s employer made an adjustment to two person (or whatever they call a couple) the month we discontinued the kid’s coverage.
That’s good news that you were able to find comparable plans. We (H and I ) will be pushed out of group an into the individual market at the end of this year. At last check, in our area, there were no PPO plans which would cover us (other than ER) out of state. And the available plans had much more restricted networks than our current group plan.
Our ‘kids’ on the other hand now have fantastic plans. D, through her employer and S through his UC. They basically can to to the right hand of god for anything anywhere.
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When the second kid aged out, DH’s employer made an adjustment to two person (or whatever they call a couple) the month we discontinued the kid’s coverage.
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Good to know. I was wondering how that would adjust when S2 turns 26. He’s only 23, but I was wondering.
kept kid #1 on my plan – COBRA – since our employer’s plan allows me to continue to pay his premium pretax.
@thumper-
I am curious, did the kids get individual plans from the same insurer, or from another company? I am trying to figure out why the individual plan was so much cheaper than it would have been to pay for them under Cobra, in theory that shouldn’t be true. Unless for example someone was comparing the cost of the full Cobra cost for the family (rather than the amount that would represent that one child), that is surprising, because the company is usually a group plan and they are most of the time cheaper than an individual one. Obviously, a young person who is otherwise healthy is going to get a better rate than someone who is older trying to get an individual plan, but I also am curious if they continued with the same company (Anthem and Cigna, respectively), if that didn’t play a role in it. If the coverage was pretty much identical, same doctor network, same deductibles, same coverage out of network and so forth, there has to be a reason, because normally going out in the individual market it is a lot more expensive than a group plan is.
My D was “low income” and went through the DC healthcare exchange. Her policy was great (BCBS PPO for $48/month). Of course, when she moved to South Carolina (same income) an equivalent policy was $144. She opted to accept her grad school’s student coverage.
Re #7
The employer based plan may be based on a workforce that is older on average than the 26 year old looking at an individual plan. So a COBRA policy on that employer based plan may be more expensive.
I didn’t age off my parents’ because both of my parents have Medicaid/Medicare. I aged out of Medicaid eligibility when I was 19- pre ACA. I didn’t have insurance for a while because it wasn’t even in the realm of affordability.
With the implementation of the ACA, I chose a BCBS plan for under $50/month. In grad school, I went back and forth between having university coverage (when I was a GSI) and the exchange. Both were BCBS so I was able to keep the same docs and whatnot when switching insurances.
Mom2collegekids, it really varies. I’ve had plans where the employee is 1(single) but the spouse triggers the family premium so no discount for not having kids. I had one child and had to pay the family premium - one child or one spouse, or 25 children - all the same ‘family’ premium. I’ve worked other places where the employer paid the employee’s premium, but to add a spouse was one price, to add children was another. Still other policies have a ‘1+1’ premium, where you can add one extra person for a lower premium than a family, so you might save some money there.
It just depends on the plan and the premium pricing approved by the dept of insurance.
I think UCB is correct, the employer plan is a group plan not based on age and likely has more coverage than the exchange plan, even if the same doctors are available, there may be different deductibles, different Rx coverage, different out of pocket, even different doctors, perhaps the same PCP, but different specialists.
Son #1 was on an extended bachelors degree program 
but we signed him up for an individual BCBS policy that was around $125/month that was better than what the school offered, so we kept him on that. When he graduated and was unemployed he simply stayed on that plan. Then he got a part-time job (no benefits) but his expected income was enough to qualify for ACA, so after a bit of angst (really reluctant to give up the existing reasonably priced policy) switched to an ACA policy that is $47/month, but it is subsidized.
Son #2 has employer provided health insurance.
(Both are >= 26)
Cobra for D would have been far more expensive than the exchange subsidized plan. And my state does not have the federal subsidies. Her cost is based on her income, low due to time on an internship. Cobra is full cost of the insurance, no subsidy. But she is scared she will have a tax penalty next year if her income is too high for 2015.
The UC insurance is great! S had it in grad school, though should have made better use of it.
Wow, this is a timely topic. So a grad student, (still being supported by parents) should get health insurance based on his zero income or does parents income come into play? (Interesting to see some familiar names here, I guess all our kids are turning 26).
I have the same question Karen. Mine will age out soon. She is covering her living expenses with savings but we have given her most of her tuition costs. Do gifts count as income for insurance purposes? I know they don’t for income tax.
Since DD was over 26 and had not been our return for years, she filed everything based on her own PT income. Since she was in an expanded Medicaid state she qualified for Medicaid. Now she has graduated and is back in a southern state so she will have to go back on to figure out what is there. .
It’s based on your AGI on the 1040, so gifts, at this point, are not counted. But very low income means Medicaid, though many parents seem to prefer to pay for a ‘real policy’ rather than risk Medicaid
If a student truly has zero income, then they will qualify for Medicaid.