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Keeping a child on parent's insurance plan

All children can be on their parent's health insurance plan until they turn 26 years old.

Some plans will let them stay on your plan after age 26:

  • If your child has disabilities

AND

  • If you still provide more than half of their support.

Click here for a good fact sheet about insurance from the Autism Insurance Resource Center that applies to many families, regardless of disability. (It will open in a new screen.)

To add your child to your group insurance policy from your employer:

  1. Contact your employer's Human Resource (HR) department or insurance company and ask them to add your child to the policy. There are usually specific start and end dates, called the Open Enrollment period, when you can sign up.

  2. If your child is almost 26, or older, ask your insurance company if they offer Adult Disabled Dependent Coverage. Ask if there is an extra premium and if they need any documents to prove the disability.

  3. You can also apply for MassHealth CommonHealth at any time. See the page in the menu about MassHealth to learn about options and apply for coverage.

 

Sources: MassHealth, Massachusetts Family-to-Family Health Information Center, Autism Insurance Resource Center