Florida Regulators Try To Determine Specifics Of New Law That Allows Some Adults To Stay On Parents' Health Policies Up To Age 30

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 06 Oct 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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A Florida state law allowing certain workers to keep dependents on their health insurance policies until age 30 was scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, but some of the specifics of the law still are being discussed, the Orlando Sentinel reports. According to the Sentinel, insurers, state regulators and employers still are trying to determine how the law will affect them. Joanna Bonfanti, a government affairs specialist with the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said, "We're in an adjustment period, where people are just learning and weighing their options about how they should address this."

A chief concern about the law is whether it will increase employers' health insurance costs. According to Becky Cherney, president and CEO of the Orlando-based Florida Health Care Coalition, adding young adults to employer-supplied health plans could further damage businesses that already have financial difficulties. "More people are liable to drop group coverage (for their workers) than there are between 25 and 30 who need this coverage," Cherney said.

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said some companies might benefit from adding young adults to their coverage pool because young adults generally are healthier than the rest of the population. He said, "The fact that the group is going to be much more predominantly a lower-age group is probably going to result in lower premiums for the entire group."

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation plans to hold a workshop in the coming weeks to clarify some of the details of the law (Myers Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 10/2).

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