One of the first provisions implemented after Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 was the dependent coverage rule that went into effect March 30, 2010, one week after President Obama signed the bill into law. This part of the ACA requires health insurers and health plans that offer dependent child coverage to make that coverage available until the adult child reaches the age of 26. Before the ACA, health plans could remove adult children from their parents’ coverage because of their age, regardless of whether they were a student or where they lived.
Both married and unmarried children qualify for this coverage and the rule applies to all health plans that employers offer and to all plans offered in the individual market. Any qualified person must be offered all of the benefits offered to similarly situated adults and cannot be required to pay more for this coverage, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.