Parental Health Insurance Coverage: Age 26 & Beyond - Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, made it possible to stay on your parents' health insurance policy until the age of 26 regardless of your school or work status. Young adults offered insurance through a job can even opt to stay on their parents' plan, according to a report from NPR.

Flexible Coverage

Before the ACA was signed into law, you usually had to be a full-time student to remain on your parents' insurance as a young adult. The ACA not only extended coverage opportunities to age 26 for non-students, it also addressed coverage for many other classifications. For example, married adult children and those who live independently from their parents and are not financially dependent on their parents are all still eligible to remain on their parents' coverage until they turn 26. Also, college graduates who were removed from their parents' policy prior to implementation of the ACA can go back on their parents' coverage until 26.

Additional ACA Details

In some cases, working young adults might have access to lower-cost health care options through their jobs or on the open market. Employers sometimes cover the full premium cost for single coverage. When you have access to a group plan, compare the co-payments, deductibles, co-insurance and other fees to what you pay while on your parents' coverage and then decide which is the better deal.