CHAPARRAL

What to do before your kid turns 24

A lesson in health care coverage

by Mona Field, Social Sciences Division

As we all know, we have an excellent comprehensive health benefits package here at GCC.  Even our dependents get full coverage, including our children until age 24.

     By now, everyone realizes that most private sector employers offer “employee only” coverage with often costly options to “add on”  spouses and children.

     So we can appreciate our excellent coverage and still hit a real wall when our kids turn 24 and are no longer eligible to get medical insurance through our college plan.

There are many ways to solve this:

1. Make sure your kid has a really good job with benefits (not easy to do, but some of our kids are there)

2. Work through your current provider (Kaiser or Blue Shield) to get continuing coverage (numerous options are available, but many are very costly)

3. Wait, hope and pray that the Governor’s plan will take care of everyone
4. Let your kid be uninsured, thus leaving him or her to the Emergency Room system of health care.  (This is just a joke!!! Do not let anyone you love be
   uninsured!)

     Of the options, if your kid is not doing Choice One, your actual options probably involve your current provider.  You may be astonished to find that your “young, healthy” offspring are ineligible for coverage as individuals if they have any history of such common conditions as asthma, allergies, acne, mental health conditions, recent surgeries and a very long list of circumstances that insurers don’t want to deal with.  Known as “medical review,” the application and selection process could label your kid “high risk” and thus disqualified from the most reasonable coverage, which is approximately $200-$300  per month just for the premium, not including co-pays.

     Coverage for people who are classified as “risks” can be very expensive.

     Fortunately, there are a few ways to keep your kids insured without spending your entire disposable income (or theirs).  Be persistent in seeking information about the options available, and be patient when you are told that you cannot represent your kid’s interests because he or she is an adult, and all this medical information is confidential.

     If you use Blue Shield, please skip the next four brief “Kaiser” paragraphs, but read the last two if you have a child who’s 22 or 23.

     If you are a Kaiser member, here is some little-known information about Kaiser’s options for your kid (if you have been with Kaiser and your kid has been on your plan).

      If your young adult is low income (below about $28,000 per year), Kaiser actually will subsidize coverage without any medical review.  This program is called STEPS and involves an application process which may take several months.  In the interim, you can pay the full cost of coverage (approximately $500 per month) or figure out your family’s solution to this “uncovered” period.

     If you apply the minute your child loses Kaiser coverage through your plan, you will probably get him or her covered through the low-cost STEPS plan in about four months. Once approved, your kid’s monthly premium will range between $40 and $20, based on income.

     If you want to get more information, please call Kaiser at 800-225-5053.  That is the number for the STEPS program.

To everyone: no matter which insurer you have, please plan ahead.  You may want to contact Menchie Braza, our expert in Payroll, for information about what really happens when your kid turns 24. She may in turn refer you to GCC’s insurance consultants for further information.

     I recommend early planning; don’t wait until your kid blows out the 24 candles on that cake!

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