Released: June 23, 2008

Grads caught in health plan limbo get creative

Source: Mary Pilon, Wall Street Journal [Baltimore Sun] (Free Registration)

This year, 1.4 million graduates are tossing their mortarboard caps into the sky and receiving bachelor’s degrees. Almost immediately, many will face another rite of passage: getting dropped from their parents’ health insurance.

Most group health plans cover employees’ children until the age of 19 - or often up to 23 if they are full-time students. After that, many young adults must put together their own health safety net. But with the economy weakening, and entry-level jobs that offer health coverage harder to find, some recent graduates are coming up with creative ways to protect themselves.

Phillip Ngo was removed from his father’s workplace health insurance when he graduated from New York University last year. So the 22-year-old came up with an idea to get back on his parent’s plan - going back to college without ever setting foot in a classroom.

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