UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group company, said that it will extend the health coverage that graduating college students currently have under their parents’ plans until new health reform provision requiring dependent coverage up to age 26 is implemented.
As part of the patient protection and affordable care act, young adults will be able to stay on their parents’ employer-offered or individual family health plans up until age 26. However, this extension does not begin to take effect for employer-sponsored plans until September 23, 2010, said that company.
According to UnitedHealthcare, it is trying to eliminate this coverage gap that some graduating students may face when losing their parents’ health plan coverage upon graduation, and will work with its employer customers to implement extension.
In addition, this extension of coverage applies to college students who currently are covered under their parents’ fully-insured health plan offered. Individual family health plans through the company’s business already allow all dependents to stay on the plan until age 26 and enrollees do not need to take any action.
Gail Boudreaux, president of UnitedHealthcare, said: We want students to graduate into a secure future, not the ranks of the uninsured, so we are working with employers to make sure these young adults have health coverage available to them ahead of the new requirements.