new insurance proposal

Governor Paterson is working on a plan to extend the period of time employed adults ae permitted to claim their children as dependents for health insurance, the New York Times reports. Currently, New Yorkers can claim their children up to age 19, unless the child is a full time student, in which case they can claim up to age 22. The new plan would extend that age to 29. The plan is modeled on an NJ law that offered the same option to parents, provided the children are under 31, reside in the state or are enrolled in college, and have no dependents of their own.

Analysts note that the effects of the Jersey law have been "incremental", pointing out that 55% of the nations workers work for companies that self-insure, and are therefore subject only to federal regulations. However, since 800,000 people, or 31% of uninsured New Yorkers, fall into the demographic targeted by this plan, legislators are paying attention. Austin Shafran, a spokeman for new Senate majority leader Malcolm A. Smith, is quoted in the Times as saying: “The plan seems like a very legitimate step in the right direction toward improving access to health care. We’re really taking a look at it.”