Grads and Parents May Differ When It Comes to Health Insurance and Other Financial Support after Graduation, eHealthInsurance Survey Shows
May 16, 2011 (Marketwire) --
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 05/16/11 -- According to a national survey of college students, graduates and parents conducted in April 2011 by global insights firm Kelton Research and sponsored by eHealthInsurance (NASDAQ: EHTH), nearly four in ten (38%) of parents do not plan to keep their adult children on their health insurance plan until age 26, despite the fact that the 2010 health care reform law now allows them to do so.
Additionally, more than four in ten (43%) parents of college students or grads under age 26 said they would only keep their adult children on their health insurance plan if it cost them nothing to do so.
A provision of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allowing adult children to retain eligibility for coverage under their parents' health insurance plans until they turn 26 could potentially benefit young college graduates who may not get a job with employer-sponsored health benefits after graduation. However, staying on a parent's health insurance plan is not an option for some graduates, and may not be the best choice for many others.
Many parents do not have health insurance coverage and those who do are not required by the law to keep their adult children on their plan. It may be impractical to stay on a parent's health insurance plan for new graduates living in other states or areas outside their parents' insurance plan's provider network. Parents who do want to keep new grads on their health insurance plan may be required to pay additional premium costs.
The eHealthInsurance survey reveals this to be an unpopular option with many parents who may want to encourage their new grads towards financial independence. More than half of parents surveyed (56%) expect to provide their child with financial assistance for only a year or less, or not at all, after graduation. However, nearly two thirds of current college students (63%) think it's only fair for parents to help them cover their health insurance costs for a year or more after graduation.
The following survey highlights provide additional insights into how college students, recent graduates and parents feel about finances, health insurance and the job market as the next wave of college students are set to graduate this spring. Full results of the Students and Grads Survey and the Parents Survey are available at the eHealthInsurance Media Center.
FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE - Many of the students and grads surveyed expect, or expected, to be financially independent shortly after graduation (though they may expect help with health insurance for longer).