The Department of Health & Human Services is touting the Affordable Care Act as helping 1 million young adults get health coverage. On September 21, 2011, HHS announced that data from the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that the Affordable Care Act has helped increase the number of young adults who have health insurance. According to HHS, data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) shows that in the first quarter of 2011, the percentage of adults between the ages of 19 and 25 with health insurance increased by 3.5 percentage points, representing approximately 1 million additional young adults with insurance coverage compared to a year ago.
Under the Affordable Care Act, most group health plans and insurance contracts offering dependent coverage must continue to offer dependent child coverage for children up to age 26. The obligation to offer dependent child coverage to age 26 generally applies regardless of whether the child is married or otherwise dependent upon the parent for support. Implementing regulations required group health plans and insurers to notify covered persons of these rights and where applicable, offer opportunities to enroll or re-enroll qualifying adult children not enrolled when the law took affect. As the implementation of these rules and the governing guidance continues to evolve, employer and other health plan sponsors, plans, insurers, fiduciaries and administrators need to review and update plan documents, contracts, communications and practices to meet new responsibilities and mitigate risks.
For Help With These Or Other Health Plan Or Employee Benefit Matters
If you would like help reviewing or defending your organizations health plan or other insurance or employee benefit, employment, health care or other practices in light of these or other laws, please contact attorney Cynthia Marcotte Stamer.
Immediate past Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) RPTE Employee Benefits & Other Compensation Group and current Co-Chair of its Welfare Benefit Committee, Vice-Chair of the ABA TIPS Employee Benefits Committee, a council member of the ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, and past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group, Ms. Stamer is recognized, internationally, nationally and locally for her more than 24 years of work, advocacy, education and publications on health and other employee benefit and related workforce, insurance and health care matters.
A board certified labor and employment attorney widely known for her extensive and creative knowledge and experienced with health benefit and insurance matters, Ms. Stamer continuously advises and assists employee benefit plans, their sponsoring employers, fiduciaries, insurers, administrators, service providers, insurers and others to monitor and respond to evolving legal and operational requirements and to design, administer, document and defend medical and other welfare benefit, qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation and retirement, severance and other employee benefit, compensation, and human resources programs and practices. She works extensively with plan sponsors, insurers, administrators, technology and other service providers and others to develop and operate legally defensible programs, practices and policies that promote the client’s human resources, employee benefits or other management goals. Ms. Stamer also is a widely published author and highly regarded speaker on these and other employee benefit and human resources matters who is active in many other employee benefits, human resources and other management focused organizations.
You can learn more about Ms. Stamer and her experience, review some of her other training, speaking, publications and other resources, and register to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns from Ms. Stamer here. For important information concerning this communication click here.
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