Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), young adults below the age of 26 are eligible to receive healthcare coverage under their parent’s medical plan.
Dependents are allowed to stay on even if they are married, in college, have kids, are not financially dependent on their parents, and are eligible to enroll in their employer’s plan.
The Pros of Staying on Your Parent’s Plan
Parents who have children over the age of 18 but under the age of 26 might want to consider keeping their child under their healthcare coverage. This could save your adult child hundreds or even thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Most young adults are not familiar in knowing which healthcare option is best for them and usually opt for the costly one. Some post-grad jobs don’t offer healthcare coverage or one that is suitable. Colleges can offer some that are also too pricey.
The Cons of Not Having Your Own Health Coverage
Some health insurance plans may charge high premiums when adding additional dependents. It’s best to compare healthcare coverages offered by your child’s job or college versus your company to see which offers the best coverage at a lower cost. You may want to consider different factors such as any chronic medical condition that your dependent may have as this could mean higher monthly premiums. Some health plan coverages charge for additional dependents added. Having more than one child on your health plan can increase premiums. Also, if your health insurance plan consists mainly of out-of-network doctors, this could also raise the cost of your insurance and out-of-pocket expenses.

Choose What’s Best
If you are considering whether keeping your child above the age of 18 on your health insurance is the best option, here are some key points you must keep in mind before enrolling.
- Health insurance premiums can increase when adding dependents.
- Compare the coverages of your family health plan and the one offered by your child’s employer.
- Dependents with chronic medical issues can increase monthly premiums.
- Healthy dependents help lower monthly premiums and increase higher deductibles which may allow you to be eligible for a Health Savings Account.
Having your dependent on your health plan can save them a lot of money in the long run. It’s best to look at different plans to see which works best for you and your dependent(s). If monthly premiums are too high with dependents but still seem like the better option, you can always have your child pitch in to cover costs if they are working full time.
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), young adults below the age of 26 are eligible to receive healthcare coverage under their parent’s medical plan.
Healthy dependents help lower monthly premiums and increase higher deductibles which may allow you to be eligible for a Health Savings Account.