Effective June 1, 2009, Illinois has a new law taking effect regarding children being able to stay on their parents coverage until Age 26, as long as the child is not married.
This law change is well known and documented in Illinois, but there is a component of the law that is not very well known. Carriers are being very tight lipped about it. To my knowledge, I have not seen any carrier sending out it’s sales force of agents, any documentation on the subject.
Under the new law, and subject to some yet undefined interpretation, NO DEPENDENT CHILD CAN BE DENIED COVERAGE FROM ANY CARRIER. Don’t get all too excited yet. How this will work in real life is going to take some competitive reality. Under the law, the carrier may exclude existing conditions, and may rate up the policy, for all practical purposes, and unlimited amount. So if a parent applied for coverage with Blue Cross, Humana, Aetna, etc…. , they could offer coverage with the condition excluded and a rate up $500 or $1000 a month more than normal prices. Not exactly a deal.
Over time, you should expect that carriers will realize that this an opportunity to add lives to the role of the insured. Over time, a carrier will emerge realizing that a child with a couple of minor issues is an opportunity for profit, and pricing will come down.
