Dependent Children Coverage Extended
This is a press release distributed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, in conjunction with an announcement made by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association stating that all 39 Blues plans have committed to doing the same thing.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City Proactively Helps Parents Keep Their Children Covered, Avoid Coverage Gap
Kansas City, Missouri (April 22, 2010) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City announced today that it is taking steps to allow young adults to remain on their parents’ health plans until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 26 years old. This proactive measure is effective June 1, 2010, and ensures all individuals graduating college in May will not experience a gap in insurance coverage.
Health care reform legislation, signed in March, will extend the dependent age for coverage to 26 years for plan years beginning September 23, 2010. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City’s proactive steps today will make sure that all dependents graduating from college in May can still be insured under their parents’ plans. The company is working in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and state regulators in providing this expanded coverage.
Most Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City’s member dependents are already covered until the end of the year in which they turn 25 years old. When dependent children lose coverage, they can be enrolled in one of the company’s direct pay plans, ensuring no one is left without coverage.
“Implementing these measures in June, instead of waiting until the end of September, makes sense and it’s the right thing to do,” said David Gentile, President and CEO Elect of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.
This is just one way Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is committed to working to provide an effective and workable implementation of the new health care reform law.
The 3rd annual Health Summit, The Face of Health Care Tomorrow, was well attended and those assembled represented a powerful force of positive energy regarding health care reform. The keynote speaker, Senator Bob Dole, presented a bipartisan view with his characteristic wit and expressed the hopeful promise of what can be achieved by working together. For details on the information presented, summit summaries or communications materials, click on any of the links below.