600,000 Young Adults Joined or Stayed on Parents’ Health Plans in First Quarter of 2011

An estimated 600,000 young adults up to age 26 have been added or stayed on their parents’ health plans as dependents, as is permitted by a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). In September 2010, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) estimated that up to 1.2 million young adults could benefit from the PPACA provision. The option became available for plan or policy years starting on or after September 23, 2010. In April 2010, 66 health plans agreed to implement the provision early, before the September deadline. The estimate . . .