Child under the age of 26, Is Dental Coverage Required?
We have a son that is 23 years old. He has graduated from college and has a job that is in the construction field.
He does not have the option for health coverage from his employer.
He is now unemployed due to weather. (He is in the masonry business).
He is covered under my husband’s insurance yet, but only major medical.
He had Dental also from my husband’s insurance, but they dropped him at the age of 23.
They claim they can do this. Is this legal under the Obamacare? They did not inform us that he was being dropped. I thought they had to inform you in writing first of all and don’t they have to cover to age 26?
I was looking at the site and it says nothing about being able to drop anything at the age of 23.
My son is living with us yet and does not get paid much from his job. He is currently unemployed until the weather breaks or they have inside work.
Jan A Davis
My daughter is 22 and a college student. We tried to enroll her during open enrollment for federal insurance and was told they stopped coverage at 22. What can we do about this? Is there someplace else that will cover college students?
ObamaCareFacts.com
Well if she is under your plan she has the legal right to stay on until 26. If she is in college her options are based on income and which state she is in. Probably the best route is to call HealthCare.gov and look into college health plans. Cost assistance at healthcare.gov, Medicaid, catastrophic or short term coverage, and potentially a plan offered through the college could all be options.
That said, being dropped for being 22 makes no sense. So if that happened, you may be able to appeal that.
SUSAN
MY CHILD IS UNDER 12 . DOES OBAMA CARE INSURANCE PAY FOR ORTHODONTIC CARE ALSO?
ObamaCareFacts.com
Your child must be offered dental, but the parent can deny it. You would have to check if you took it. So simple answer is check with your insurer or check your plan if you have a standalone.
Katherine
Why are children in college dropped from parents dental and optical insurance at age 23?
Susan
I agree it is ridiculous. My daughter just turned 24 on December 8th. She saw the dentist yesterday and was not told she has no coverage for vision or dental. I just got a letter yesterday saying she no longer has dental or vision. She still has medical benefits. These should match. Advanced notice of termination of benefits should be provided.
Alexandria Glover
I am 23 years old and I was on my mothers Vision insurance through her work because the insurance my employer offers isn’t all that impressive. They dropped me with out notice and didn’t even let me know when I turned 23 last month. I only found out when I made an eye appointment and was told by my optometrist receptionist that I didn’t show on the plan. Shouldn’t thay have to at least let me know when I am being dropped from the insurance?
m coelho
My daughter is 23 and a college student. She is working part time. My employer said she is not covered for dental as of age 23. Is this true?
ObamaCareFacts.com
Yes, it is dental for under 19 so 23 could be considered generous by some measures. A family plan however must be offered until 26.
https://obamacarefacts.com/dental-insurance/dental-insurance/
Denise Jasien
We are retired Military and our Tricare has dropped our children after the date of their college graduations at the age of 22. This started in May of 2015 with my oldest, and again this year with my middle child. My oldest is going on for a Nursing degree and took little menial courses to stay full time so she could remain under our coverage, however the one who just graduated this past week, has a degree, has loans to pay off, no solid full time job with benefits, but was kicked off of our Tricare insurance coverage. I thought they could remain on up to the age of 26, but was told that Tricare is a federal based insurance, and they can do this and the only way to stay on is to be a full time student up through the age of 26. Is this their own governmental inclusive coverage twist? They want me to individually insure each child on their pwn ACA insurance plan costing an annual cost of over $2400.00 per child. We can’t afford that and they certainly can’t afford that while they are trying to look for a solid job that offers benefits and pay their loans. WHAT ARE the alternatives and how is this allowed. After 25 years of my husband being active duty and retiring… this is ridiculous.
Leanne Martinez
I just got coverage under the Washington Healthcare Exchange. When I signed up, it only allowed me to sign my daughter up as a dependent if I chose a dental plan for her. However, she is only 9 months old and has no teeth.Since signing up, I received 2 bills. One for the medical coverage for both of us, which I paid. The other for her dental coverage. I do not want to pay for dental insurance for her because she does not need it. If I cancel the dental portion and/or do not pay the dental bill for her will there be negative consequences (i.e. my our medical coverage will get cancelled and/or there will be a monetary penalty for not being in compliance)?
ObamaCareFacts.com
You should not have had to sign up for dental. They had to offer, but you could have declined. That said, sometimes this is your best move and some plans are only sold with dental. You may be able to drop the dental (if it was sold as a “stand-alone”).
Amy Frost
I am self employed and supply my own Medical insurance to myself and my son who is 13. I was told I HAD to get dental insurance by Blue Cross Blue Shield in order to make my Medical insurance valid. Is that true or can I just pay for dental out of pocket? What happens if I don’t have dental insurance?
ObamaCareFacts.com
I hadn’t thought about this, sort of a catch 22. You can reject dental coverage as a parent, but must offer it as en employer… I would think the end result would be that you would need to offer yourself a plan and then reject it. But that just sounds like odd bureaucracy.
With that said, it isn’t a bad idea to get a standalone plan. Under law you can offer a standalone or a plan that pairs dental with medical.
Valerie
I just read on line that as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed in to law March 23, 2010, young adults up to age 26 are eligible for coverage under their parent/guardian’s health care plans – including dental, regardless of marital status, dependent status, student status, or residency. It said the law took effect July 1, 2010 and coverage could be immediate or by January 1, 2011. Is this not still in effect? My daughter was recently aged out of our dental coverage at age 20 because she wasn’t a full time student. Am I not understanding the above correctly?
ObamaCareFacts.com
Employers only have to offer child dental and vision until 19. They, and everyone else, has to offer young adults medical coverage on a family plan until 26. If dental is part of the group health plan then everyone on the plan should be offered the option, if dental is a stand-alone that is added to the plan to adhere to the law, then that coverage can be dropped when the child ages out of the requirement for pediatric dental and vision.