Health Insurance Blog

The New Hampshire House of Representatives is considering enacting legislation what would increase coverage of their health insurance program for low-income New Hampshire residents.

The proposed legislation would enable adults aged 19 to 25, who earn less than $3600 per month, to be eligible for the New Hampshire Healthy Kids Program.  Currently the program is open to children under age 18.

In other New Hampshire Health Insurance news, the NH house went on record last week backing a single-payer nathional health care system.

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that Governor John Lynch is planning to allow adults from ages 19 to 25 to buy New Hampshire health insurance through the state-subsidized Healthy Kids insurance program. Healthy Kids was previously open to children under 18 only.

After a three-month waiting period, young adults earning individual incomes below 400% of the poverty level ($3,610 per month) and without access to parent- or employer-sponsored health insurance will be allowed to participate in the buy-in program. The economy’s current troubles make it less likely that this age group will quickly find jobs with medical benefits, making this measure even more urgent. Currently, around 22,000 young adults in New Hampshire are uninsured.

The exact cost of the health insurance premiums is being finalized, but the president of Healthy Kids expects it to be less than $200 per month, significantly more affordable than most individual health plans.