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 Over 300,000 Illinoisans ages 19-25 are uninsured -- many of whom
lack the means and opportunity to get affordable health insurance
coverage. Being able to
stay on their parents' or guardians' health plans will allow
thousands of young adults to keep or get access to more affordable
coverage, get regular checkups and receive preventive care.
"Today I am pleased to say that because the General Assembly
accepted my improvements to House Bill 5285, more Illinoisans will
have access to health care, and more families can have the peace of
mind knowing their dependents have health insurance. Now 300,000
uninsured Illinoisans in their early 20s will have an opportunity to
get coverage, which means they won't have to worry about a
catastrophic accident putting them into debt. If a young person has
diabetes or another chronic illness, they won't have to worry about
how to cover their everyday care," Blagojevich said.
There are approximately 1.4 million people ages 19-25 in
Illinois. When individuals don't have insurance, they are less
likely to get annual doctor's visits and more likely to rely on
expensive emergency room visits for care. Missing a routine checkup
can cause people to miss important indicators of serious issues,
including cancer or diabetes.
"This law is a great example of what can happen when our leaders
in Springfield work together to provide meaningful support for
Illinois families. I was proud to sponsor this bill in the Senate
and look forward to more young people receiving the health care
coverage that they need," said Sen. Dan Kotowski, D-Mount Prospect.
Twenty states have enacted some dependent coverage expansion to
allow dependents to stay on their parents' or guardians' policies
into their mid-20s. With the governor's action, Illinois will have
the second-strongest law in the nation with regard to expanded
dependent coverage.
Illinois does not currently have an age requirement for
dependent coverage. Instead, insurers define "dependent" on a
policy-to-policy basis, which most often means that parents don't
even have the choice to extend this coverage to their loved ones,
despite their desire to do so.
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 "For many young Illinoisans just out of high school, they are
still figuring out the next step, whether that is college or the
work force. That uncertain time will be a little less tenuous now
that dependents in their 20s will have the ability to stay on their
parents' heath care coverage. I thank the governor for his
improvements to this legislation and am pleased to return the
accepted legislation to him for his certification," said Sen. Ricky
Hendon, D-Chicago.
This legislation becomes effective June 1, 2009. After that,
families will have a three-month period once their policy is renewed
to add their dependent onto their policy. For every year thereafter,
parents will be able to enroll their dependents during their
policies' regular open enrollment period.
Illinois veterans who are still considered dependents will
benefit from this new law as well because they will be able to stay
on their parents' insurance until their 30th birthday. Currently,
all active-duty National Guardsmen or reservists have health
insurance that ends six months after they leave the military, unless
they have a service-connected disability. After those six months are
up, they need to find their own health coverage, which can be
difficult for a person returning from military service, who may not
yet have reliable employment.
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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