Q. I know this question was asked, but I feel it wasn’t not properly answered. Under the new health reform act, will family premiums go up due to dependants coverage stretching to 26? Will it also affect annuitant/employee only also? And after all these years of having only employee only and employee plus family, why couldn’t another tier be added … annuitant/employee plus one.
A. Premiums are unlikely to be affected by the small number of dependent children who will be retained (or added briefly) to a parent’s self-and-family plan option until they reach age 26. The proposal to add a self-plus-one option has been brought up periodically over the years but been resisted because it further reduces the risk pool on which premiums are based. Ideally, there would have been only one option, regardless of the number being covered.