And I really hat to say it. But that provision that takes young adults 18 to 25 get free healthcare on their parents plan is ridiculous. Those are not kids. Those are often working adults. Or adults that should be working. They could at least means test it. If you make more than $39K you have to get health insurance.
The premiums for 18 to 25 year olds are paid by the parents...their college aged children are just extended on parents’ plans.
Frankly, I don’t want any of my family having to register on the Obamacare data collection website ever, so if staying on my insurance prevents that, it is a good thing.
Additionally, given the weak job market for recent college grads and length of time some students are needing to finish their degrees, I don’t think it is ridiculous.
Many families I know have taken advantage of that provision—including mine. One of my children had to do multiple staggered internships and the internships pushed out their education until they were 25. Found a job in first month following graduation and has been paying own insurance since, but I am glad that provision existed.
If a parent’s medical plan is “family” and there is at least one other adult, then that kid is totally free. Most family plans are 3+ persons. The fourth person and so on, are free. You have a deductible for that kid. However there is a family cap, so that deductible may never come into play.
Its true that your kid may be hanging around the house waiting for the perfect job. Our your kid may be getting his masters in something. But your kid is also one of the healthy ones that Obamacare was depending on to offset the less healthy ones. And now that 6 of the most healthy years in our lives is either free or at a greatly reduced cost, there is no way Obamacare is going to work. And neither is any other plan. People used to get insurance for those years. Now the insurance system is out of balance so prices will need to go up a lot.
Many economists are wondering why young adults aren’t working as much as they did before 2009. Its not the economy. Its this insurance. They can go to machu picchu, or sail to Mackinaw. Or train for an iron man. Or just sit in their parents basement smoking pot. But they don’t have to get a job because healthcare is provided without one.
I gave a survey to my employees. Why did they work. Number two behind salary was medical insurance. For about 20% of my staff it was the only reason. And since 75% of the country does not get a college degree, there are lots of people who should be working, but aren’t.