Obamacare Let You Stay on Your Parents' Health Care Plan Until You're 26

Prior to the Affordable Care Act, young adults were booted off their parents plan when they turned 19. At 19-years-old, navigating the insurance market can be incredibly difficult, especially since typical jobs for young people are entry level positions that don’t often include health care benefits. In the pre-Obamacare days, many young people relied on their college insurance plans which hinged the quality of health on academic success for some students.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) division of Health Health and Human Services, young people have the highest uninsured rates of any age group at approximately 30 percent. There’s also an unfounded assumption (often on behalf of young people themselves) that they people don’t need insurance, but CMS reports that one in six young adults suffers from a chronic illness like cancer, diabetes or asthma.

Since 2010, the Affordable Care Act’s dependent coverage policy enables people to stay on their parent’s individual or employer-provided health care plan at no additional cost until they turn 26. Even if someone gets married or finds an employer that may offer coverage, they are still able to stay on their parent’s plan until their 26th birthday. As a result of this mandate, at least 3.1 million young adults have had access to care since 2012.

The best way to fight federal attempts to sabotage open enrollment is to find out if you qualify for coverage, and enroll if you do . Then, it's all about getting the word out about open enrollment to your friends and family. Get America Covered makes this easy , with shareable social graphics, easy to understand fact sheets, and an email list serve.