WH Issues Rules on Dependent Coverage and the Chamber Whines

[SpartanDem]

WASHINGTON — The White House issued rules on Monday allowing young adults to remain covered by their parents’ health insurance policies up to age 26.

The promise of such coverage has attracted great interest. Employers and insurers say they have been flooded with inquiries.

Under the rules, an employer-sponsored health plan or a company selling individual insurance policies must offer coverage to subscribers’ children up to the age of 26, regardless of whether a child lives with his or her parents, attends college, is a dependent for income-tax purposes or receives financial support from the parents.
.............

Under the rules, insurers and employers must provide young adults with a 30-day opportunity to enroll in their parents’ coverage. Terms of coverage cannot vary based on the age of young adults under 26. Thus, the White House said, an insurer violates the law if it imposes a surcharge on premiums for children 19 to 25.

But James P. Gelfand, director of health policy at the United States Chamber of Commerce, said: “Regulatory agencies may have stretched their authority in writing these rules. Adult children can live 2,000 miles away from their parents, be married and not have spoken to Mom and Dad in a year, and they could still be added to the parents’ employer-sponsored health plan just like any other child.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/health/policy/11health.html

[Cha]

1. That's right.. suck it up.

"But James P. Gelfand, director of health policy at the United States Chamber of Commerce, said: “Regulatory agencies may have stretched their authority in writing these rules. Adult children can live 2,000 miles away from their parents, be married and not have spoken to Mom and Dad in a year, and they could still be added to the parents’ employer-sponsored health plan just like any other child.”

[high density]

5. Or the children could still be living with their parents, making $9/hr

and hoping for a real career opportunity to show up soon... Been there, done that. Luckily my parents' union-negotiated health insurance kept me covered even when I couldn't get gainful employment until sometime after I graduated college.

[FrenchieCat]

2. Chamber of Commerce fighting FOR the Insurance Company

to charge the American people more!

Assholes!

[Dr Morbius]

3. Jeez, it isn't like no one's paying for the insurance! (nt)

[HughMoran]

4. The Chamber of Commerce is anti-child

Heck, they are anti-business too. They must be destroyed.

[karynnj]

6. This is a very major provision - that is going to make many people happy

Terms of coverage cannot vary based on the age of young adults under 26. Thus, the White House said, an insurer violates the law if it imposes a surcharge on premiums for children 19 to 25.

This is great. This will be incredibly important to many kids who don't immediately get jobs with insurance. It also takes into consideration a situation my husband and I had a few years ago. Our oldest child was ill enough that she needed to take a leave of absence from college to deal with a medical problem. But, it was a catch 22 - she needed insurance because she was ill, but she was too ill to be in college and our insurance covered her only when she was in college. We paid for COBRA until she returned to college a year later.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

7. Michelle's Law was probably enacted after your family

faced this situation. Insurance plans can't drop dependents who lose student status due to taking a medical leave of absence.

http://www.milliman.com/expertise/employee-benefits/publications/wp/PDFs/michelle-law-new-mandate-wp04-01-09.pdf