New York Gov. Proposes Expanded Health Insurance for Dependents
Keith L. Martin of the Insurance and Financial Advisor just reported on a new proposal by Governor David Paterson regarding New York health insurance. He wants to expand health care coverage by mandating that health insurance companies cover policy dependents up to age 29, at the policyholder’s own expense. Currently, parents’ health insurance plans in New York state cover their children until they are either 18 if they aren’t enrolled in college, or 22 years old if they are.
This age group is at increased risk for being without health insurance: many 19-to-29 year olds are either unemployed and struggling to find jobs, laid off, or working in positions that don’t offer health insurance. Individual health plans are usually far more expensive than group coverage.
Paterson’s legislation will address those issues, in addition to possible provisions for any grandchildren of the policyholder. Keith says that this proposal is a step towards universal health care reform by controlling medical costs and including a large group of generally healthy people in the pool to spread risk. This demographic is a low-risk pool for insurers, but could have a negative effect on smaller employers.
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