Wall Street Journal Examines State Legislation To Extend Dependency Eligibility Age For Health Insurance

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 13 Apr 2006 - 14:00 PDT

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The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined how a "growing number of states are passing laws requiring health insurers to cover children under their parents' plans well into adulthood." Most private health insurers end dependency eligibility at age 19, with the eligibility in some cases extended to age 22 or 23 for full-time students. However, at least 22 states -- such as Colorado, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Maine -- have enacted or have begun to consider legislation to extend dependency eligibility to as high as age 30. According to the Journal, state lawmakers have begun to consider such legislation over concerns about the "growing cost of picking up the tab" for some of the 46 million uninsured U.S. residents, with adults ages 19 to 34 the "fastest growing group of uninsured." However, some employers and business groups maintain that such legislation would increase the cost of health insurance and could "force more employers to stop offering it," the Journal reports (McQueen, Wall Street Journal, 4/11).

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