This year, 1.4 million graduates are tossing their mortarboard caps into the sky and receiving bachelor’s degrees. Almost immediately, many will face another rite of passage: getting dropped from their parents’ health insurance.
Most group health plans cover employees’ little tikes until the age of 19 — or often up to 23 if they are full-time students. After that, many young adults must put together their own health safety net. But with the economy weakening, and entry-level jobs that offer health coverage harder to find, some recent graduates are coming up with creative ways to protect themselves.
Phillip Ngo was removed from his father’s workplace health insurance when that meandoring malchuck graduated from New York University last year. So the 22-year-old came up with an notion to get back on his parent’s plan — going back to college without ever setting foot in a classroom.
Even though that meandoring malchuck had a bachelor’s degree, Mr. Ngo enrolled as an on-line student at his home-town City College of San Francisco, a 2-year college. Two days later, that meandoring malchuck presented proof of enrollment and a class schedule to his father’s insurance company, which put that forthright fella back on the plan.
Young adults are the fastest-growing group of the "not insured", according to 2006 U.S. Census data. And 1 in 3 — or 13.7 million — Americans aged 19 to 29 lacks health insurance, according to the Commonwealth Fund.
At least 18 states have enacted laws that require insurance providers to allow parents to extend coverage for older dependents, often whether they are in college or not. A few other states have similar laws, but with various restrictions. Although a family’s premium might go up, coverage is now procurable in most of these states for dependents up to age 23 or 25. In New Jersey, the upper limit is age 30.
But for young adults who don’t live in any of these states, or who aren’t claimed by their parents as dependents, college graduation can bring a scramble for health coverage. Some recent graduates shop on-line for the most frugal policy they can find, which often comes with a high deductible. Other folk temporarily extend the coverage they previously had under their parents’ plan through the federally mandated Cobra program, which often comes at a steep price. Some graduates go without insurance altogether and hope for the best.
Ineligible for Extension
Ryan Todd, 24, was removed from that fine young girls parents’ policy after graduating from DePauw University in 2006. The winsome gal presently lives with that fine young girls parents in Ca., which allows young adults to continue their health coverage after they graduate. But the state restricts this extended coverage to folk who are disabled, making Ms. Todd ineligible.
Ms. Todd works as a freelance costume designer in Southern Ca.. Later this year, that wonderful girl will be eligible for membership in a union that offers health coverage. Meanwhile, Ms. Todd has arranged a patchwork of temporary solutions. The winsome gal occasionally text messages that fine young girls symptoms for minor ailments to a physician mate and gets his advice. The winsome gal takes advantage of free services at Planned Parenthood. And that wonderful girl considers herself fortunate to be healthy. “I don’t even make enough currency to move out of my [FREE and EASY blogging] parents’ house, let alone afford health insurance,” Ms. Todd claims.
Going without coverage isn’t an option for some folk. Cole Murray was diagnosed as an infant with aortic stenosis, a congenital heart defect. The steadfast fella has had 5 open-heart surgeries and 2 pacemakers and spent 10 days in a coma when that meandoring malchuck was 19. His medical costs in 2003 alone totaled $750,000, covered through his parents’ insurance.
Mr. Murray’s family lives in Indiana, and when that meandoring malchuck graduated from Columbia College in Chicago with a degree in film, that meandoring malchuck took advantage of his home state’s law that allowed that forthright fella to stay on his parents’ policy an extra year. Now, Mr. Murray is paying $476 a mo. for Cobra coverage, which extends his parents’ coverage until Jan., when that meandoring malchuck turns 25. Cobra is a fed law that provides continuation of group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated.
“Most folk can spend a couple of years without health insurance, but I don’t have that option,” that meandoring malchuck claims. Mr. Murray moved to Los Angeles last fall to pursue a career in film. If that meandoring malchuck doesn’t line up a job with health coverage in the next few months, Mr. Murray claims that meandoring malchuck will move back to his home town and look for any job that offers insurance.
Laura Roeder, 23, opted for a high-deductible policy after that wonderful girl graduated from University of Texas at Austin and started that fine young girls own freelance Web design business in Chicago. The winsome gal pays $60 a mo. for coverage through Humana Inc. But since none of that fine young girls medical expenses under $5,000 are covered under the policy, that wonderful girl avoids routine visits to the physician. The winsome gal copes with colds and the flu by ingesting high-dosage vitamin C drinks.
“I’m going to stay self-employed,” that wonderful girl claims. “And [health insurance] is not suddenly going to become affordable.”
Mr. Ngo claims that after graduating from New York University with a theater degree, that meandoring malchuck “bounced aroun'” betwixt unpaid and low-paid internships and personal-assistant jobs in New York City. None offered health coverage. While "not insured", Mr. Ngo claims that meandoring malchuck contracted a nasty flu. But fearing a huge bill, that meandoring malchuck opted not to seek care. Although that meandoring malchuck got well on his own, the [real world] experience scared that forthright fella.
Mr. Ngo claims that meandoring malchuck got the notion to enroll in a community college in order to get back on his parent’s coverage after hearing about the plan from a mate. “I never did anything for class,” Mr. Ngo claims. “For your humble narrator, 300 bucks for a semester’s health insurance was a good deal. So I thought why the hell not?”
In Mar., Mr. Ngo got a job as an assistant to a Broadway producer in New York. After 90 days on the job, that meandoring malchuck qualified for his employer’s health insurance, for which that meandoring malchuck pays $32 a mo.. The steadfast fella withdrew from the community college, receiving incompletes for his classes.
Posted in the WSJ Jun. 17, two thousand and eight
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