The bill, sponsored by Sen. Greg Lind, D-Missoula, "represents a small, but important step toward the goal that every Montanan have access to high quality, affordable health care," Schweitzer said Friday.
The law takes effect Jan. 1. The old law allowed parents to keep their unmarried children on their health insurance through the age of 23, as long as they were full-time students.
Lind said fewer young people have health insurance available through their employers when they first start working and college students may not be able to finish school in four years without needing to work, ending their status as a full-time student.
Coverage under the new law is only available if the child does not have access to health insurance through their employer at the same or lower monthly premium cost. The law also specifies that the insured parent's employer may not be required to pay any additional cost that may result from a parent's decision to continue providing health care coverage for their child.
The new definition of "dependent" will apply to all individual and group health insurance coverage, as well as some government-sponsored health plans. The health insurance for state employees already allows them to insure their children until the age of 25.
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