A growing number of states, including Colorado, are passing laws requiring health insurers to cover children under their parents’ plans well into adulthood.
Most group or private health-insurance plans end eligibility for dependents when a child turns 19. The age limit is extended for full-time students but still generally tops out at about 22 or 23.
Now, at least 22 states have recently passed laws, or are considering legislation, that require insurers to offer coverage to even older dependents, often whether they are in school or not.
A law in Colorado that went into effect Jan. 1 mandates that dependents be covered until they turn 25. The cut-off age was previously 24. State lawmakers are now considering HB 1346, which would further extend coverage to an adult dependent’s minor children. It has passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate.
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado, which provides health insurance for 460,000 Colorado residents, opposed the bill because it “attempts to broaden coverage by shifting the burden to employers,” says Leo Tokar, vice president of marketing.
The company is passing along to its customers a 1 percent premium increase to cover the additional costs stemming from Colorado’s new law, he says. Kaiser customers expect their costs to go up, in turn.
Coors Brewing Co., the Golden-based subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Co., says the measure would add $300,000 to the annual premiums the company pays for its 3,000 Colorado employees. Defense and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corp. also says it expects higher health- care costs. Lockheed is based in Bethesda, Md., but runs several operations in Colorado that employ an estimated 10,000 people.
The Colorado law, which applies to group and privately purchased individual health plans, requires insurers to offer a parent continuing coverage for an unmarried child who is under 25. Insurers have the option to charge an additional premium. The child must live at the same address as the parent or be financially dependent.
State Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, who co-sponsored the law, said the target population was part-time students and young working adults who still rely on their parents for financial support.
The Denver Post contributed to this report.
