On your parents’ health insurance? Worried about at what age you’ll get kicked off your parents’ health insurance? Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the landmark Obama administration healthcare law, young adults are now able to stay on their parent’s health insurance plan until they turn 26. Before the ACA, age 19 was the cut-off when insurance companies kicked a person off their parent’s plan (though full-time students were allowed to stay on a little longer). For those with a 26th birthday coming up who are still on their parent’s health plan, there are a few things to know about exactly when your coverage is going to end.
Grab our free guide to getting Marketplace health coverage here.
If your parent has Obamacare
The first thing to assess before you’re kicked off your parents’ health insurance is what kind of health insurance coverage your parents have. If they have a Marketplace plan, you’ll have until Dec. 31 of the year you turn 26 to keep that coverage. If you want new coverage for yourself through the Marketplace come Jan. 1, you’ll need to complete your enrollment during Open Enrollment Period. You will need to sign-up during Open Enrollment before the end of that calendar year. In most states, Open Enrollment ends on Dec. 15.
If your parent has insurance through their employer
Is your parent get insurance through their employer? Then your coverage will end on the last day of your birth month the year you turn 26. But there’s good news. If your coverage ends this way, you’ll qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. This is a special 60-day period outside of Open Enrollment when you can get a Marketplace plan of your own.
You can compare prices and shop for a Health Insurance Marketplace plan here.
To learn more about Special Enrollment Periods and how to sign-up for your own Obamacare plan, you can contact the HealthSherpa Consumer Advocate team at (872) 228-2549.