Adult children are more likely to get care and see a doctor when they are allowed to stay on their parents' health insurance longer, a new study finds.
Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that laws permitting children to stay on their parents' health insurance through age 26 result in improved access to health care compared to states without those laws.
The researchers analyzed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey and compared the period before the state laws were enacted (2002 to 2004) to the period after the state laws went into effect (2008 to 2009). In the 34 states that had such laws, they say, the affected patients had greater rates of health insurance, were more likely to identify a personal physician and receive a physical exam, and were less likely to forgo care due to cost.
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"These research findings will inform our understanding of what to expect from the federal health reform provision that allows those up to age 26 to join their parents' policy," says Alex Blum, lead author of the study. "Our results predict that many more young people will have a personal doctor and regular checkups, and no longer have to go without care due to cost. These are critical components to provide health security to young people just when they are starting out on their own."
Additionally, six state laws were more generous than the ACA's provision and extended eligibility beyond 26 years, researchers say. "Four states that enacted laws prior to the ACA imposed premium caps to limit parental costs," Blum says. "The ACA could be amended to reach even more young adults by raising the limits to age 29 and by limiting the premiums, as some states have done."
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