Gov. Jim Doyle announced an emergency order to clarify a Wisconsin state statute which allows young adults under 27 to be covered under their parents’ health insurance.
According to a statement released by Doyle’s office Thursday, the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance wanted clarification for the new law passed in the 2009-11 biennium budget that expands health insurance coverage so those under the age of 27 will now be eligible for coverage through their parents’ health insurance.
The health care expansion law applies to both individual and group health insurance plans and a self-insured plan through a government employer, the statement said. The law is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2010.
Doyle spokesperson Lee Sensenbrenner said the purpose of the order is to strengthen the language of the law and clarify how and who is included in it.
“With the language of the budget, there was some confusion as to how the law will be applied, and now that is taken care of,” Sensenbrenner said. “Young adults make up a big class of often uninsured individuals, and now they can get health insurance.”
According to the Doyle statement, eligible individuals must be an adult under the age of 27 years of age who is not married and is either not eligible for health coverage through their employer or whose premium for employer health coverage is greater than what a parent would pay to add the young adult to the family’s health plan.
Additional guidelines apply to full-time students who are called to active duty in the National Guard, the statement said.
Sensenbrenner also said this new law allows some young adults to be eligible for health care coverage regardless of whether or not they are college students.
Jim Guidry, spokesperson for OCI, said the agency has been contacted numerous times about how the expansion would be interpreted by insurers, and this order was necessary to specify the eligibility.
“This expansion was necessary largely because a high amount of uninsured are usually either in college or fresh out or didn’t go, and they are usually in entry-level jobs where insurance is either not offered or not affordable,” Guidry said.
According to OCI, full-time college students formerly received dependent status on their parents’ health insurance until graduation or until they turned 24.
Rep. Louis Molepske, D-Stevens Point, agreed many under the age of 27 have difficulty securing health insurance coverage.
“Especially for people who go to graduate school, this is just a common-sense proposal that keeps them on their parents’ plan and helps them to maintain health care,” Molepske said.
Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, however, did not see the benefits of allowing adults under 27 to use their parents’ health insurance, saying this will ultimately burden taxpayers and employers.
“This is another example of Doyle adding more costs to employers who have a hard enough time keeping those with insurance on their books,” Vos said. “If you are 27 and still living at home, you should get a job that allows you to pay for insurance.”
