3433-vol. 6 issue 2-3.pmd - iarfc

Volume 6, Issue 2 & 3 39
Assistance program (SHIP), where trained counselors can provide assistance
at no charge. For more information about SHIP, visit www.shiptalk.org.
Young Adult Health Insurance
At the other end of the lifespan are young adults and they, too, have
health insurance concerns. Young adults often lose coverage through their
parents’ policies or public insurance programs (e.g., Medicaid and the State
Children’s Health Insurance Program or SCHIP) at age 19 or during their early
20s if attending college full-time. Gaps in coverage occur when young adults
are out of school and are not covered by insurance through an employer or
government program. In recent years, young adults have been the fastest
growing group of uninsured. An estimated 13.7 million young adults age 19 to
29 lacked coverage in 2004, an increase of 2.5 million since 2000. Even though
they comprise just 17% of the under-65 population, young adults account for
30% of nonelderly uninsured (Collins, Schoen, Kriss, Doty, & Mahato, 2006).
Not surprisingly, a number of states have been passing laws raising dependent
age limits on family policies to the mid 20s or, for residents of New Jersey,
age 30 (McQueen, 2006).
Nearly two of five college graduates and one-half of high school
graduates who do not go on to college will be uninsured for a period during
the first year after graduation. Medicaid and SCHIP reclassify all teenagers as
adults the day they turn 19. Afterwards, adult criteria for coverage apply.
Uninsured young adults are far less likely than those with coverage to have a
regular doctor (Collins et al., 2006). Several options are available, however, to
provide health insurance for young adults. One is COBRA. Adult children
who lose eligibility under a parent’s policy can purchase continued coverage
for up to 36 months if they (or a parent) pay the full premium cost of the health
plan plus a 2% administrative fee (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.; McQueen,
2006). Another option, albeit also at a cost, is to purchase health insurance
sold to individuals. Individual coverage works best if pre-existing conditions
are covered by qualification through HIPAA regulations (i.e., if you had prior
health insurance for at least 18 months). Short-term individual policies
generally last six months to a year and may be renewed if policyholders remain
healthy. In a handful of northeastern states (MA, ME, NJ, NY, and VT),
insurers doing business in the state are required to sell coverage to any
resident, regardless of health status. This is referred to as “guaranteed issue”
insurance (Individual Market Guaranteed Issue, 2006).
Planning Strategies
State Health Insurance Laws and Benefit Programs
As noted above, a growing number of states have passed laws
requiring health insurers to cover adult children under their parent’s policy,