You asked if any of the states with laws increasing the age a person is considered an eligible dependent child for purposes of health insurance have available information on any associated cost impact of the requirement.

SUMMARY

Eleven states have laws increasing the age a person is considered an eligible dependent child for purposes of health insurance: Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah. OLR Report 2006-R-0791 describes the nuances of each law.

None of the states have performed a cost analysis of the added years of eligibility for dependent children. Among the six states that produced a fiscal note for the dependent age requirement (Colorado, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas), we found a common theme: no fiscal impact to the state, but indeterminable impact to municipalities and others. We could not find any studies analyzing these laws' impact on health care premiums. However, New Mexico's fiscal report noted that young adults present little risk to and are good to have in an insured group because they are generally healthier and make less use of health care services than others.

Enclosed are OLR Report 2006-R-0791 and copies of the eleven state laws and six fiscal notes.

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