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Some worry that health insurance reform will have some inadvertent impact. Specifically, it could leave a previously insured population uninsured: dependents of employees, who currently receive coverage from their spouse’s or parent’s employer.
Why would this be the case? In 2014, firms with over 50 employees will have to provide coverage to their full-time employees or pay a $2,000 fine per-employee. Since the bill requires insurers to cover pre-existing conditions and prevents them from rescinding policies once a person becomes ill, health insurance rates may go up in the short run. The employer and individual mandates are supposed to mitigate that impact by increasing the size of the insurance pool, but that doesn’t stop companies from worrying about costs.
In order to save money on group health insurance, many employers may choose to drop coverage for dependents, which isn’t forbidden in the legislation. Ironically, one of the immediate benefits of healthcare reform that has been touted is that adult children can now remain as dependents on their parents’ insurance plans until they turn 26. If that coverage is dropped, it’d put them back in the same predicament.
Tags: dependents, employer-based health insurance, group health insurance, health insurance, healthcare reform
