Apr 24, 2011 2 min read

State Rep. Pete Daley, D-California, reminds graduating college students and their parents that changes to the health-care laws and the insurance market mean that recent graduates may be able to stay on their parents’ family health insurance plan for a few more years after they leave school.

“This is the start of higher education graduation season,” Daley said. “Once the last notes of ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ have finished and the cap and gown are put away, students are facing the challenge of finding a job, starting a career and building a life. A change in the laws governing health insurance may remove at least one major concern facing grads and their parents — how to afford health insurance coverage.”

?In the past few years, changes in the health insurance market and laws now give young adults the opportunity to stay on their parents’ family plan until they turn 26. This includes young adults who are married, living with their parents, in school or financially independent, but who don’t have employer-based health-care coverage. Coverage ends once the graduate becomes employed with job-based coverage.

Additionally, last year, Pennsylvania instituted a new program to provide transitional insurance coverage until broader provisions of the federal health insurance reform law become available in January 2014. Under the changes, if an individual has been uninsured because of a pre-existing condition, they may be eligible to join the Pennsylvania Fair Care program. This is a plan for uninsured adults with pre-existing conditions. For more information or an application, residents should visit: http://www.pafaircare.com/.

Finally, for some, Medical Assistance may be an alternative while a job search is under way. Information is available through the Department of Public Welfare’s toll free number (1-800-692-7462). Program details and eligibility requirements can be found in the Medical Assistance eligibility handbook, which is available online at: http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/foradults/healthcaremedicalassistance/index.htm.

For more information on these and other changes and how they might benefit your family, visit http://familiesusa2.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/USPIRG-Young-Adults-Brochure.pdf.