Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said Thursday that employers should immediately offer or continue health insurance coverage for workers’ children up to the age of 26, at little or no additional cost.
Employers will have to offer such coverage under the new health care law, and Ms. Sebelius said they should act sooner, without waiting for the requirement to take effect.
At the request of the Obama administration, more than 65 insurers have already agreed to allow young adults to stay on their parents’ policies before the insurers are required to do so, under the new law, later this year or early next year.
Relatively few employers, however, have modified their health plans to make this option available to employees.
In a recent survey of 661 large companies, Towers Watson, an employee benefits consulting concern, found that 16 percent were planning to offer coverage to adult children before the deadline — the start of the first plan year beginning on or after Sept. 23. For many employers, with health plans that operate on a calendar-year schedule, the deadline is Jan. 1.
Employers will have to offer such coverage under the new health care law, and Ms. Sebelius said they should act sooner, without waiting for the requirement to take effect.
At the request of the Obama administration, more than 65 insurers have already agreed to allow young adults to stay on their parents’ policies before the insurers are required to do so, under the new law, later this year or early next year.
Relatively few employers, however, have modified their health plans to make this option available to employees.
In a recent survey of 661 large companies, Towers Watson, an employee benefits consulting concern, found that 16 percent were planning to offer coverage to adult children before the deadline — the start of the first plan year beginning on or after Sept. 23. For many employers, with health plans that operate on a calendar-year schedule, the deadline is Jan. 1.
Can Sebelius really be surprised by this? You can’t provide insurance to more people without spending more money just by snapping your fingers or asking politely. Even after the law kicks in somebody, somewhere is going to have to pick up the tab for insuring additional people.
