While your teen is busy blowing out birthday candles and contemplating his new adult status, take a moment to scan these five, sometimes unexpected ways the law and your child's 18th birthday may affect you:
Medical Issues: Want to discuss your 18-year-old’s health, possible sexual activity or substance abuse with his doctor or campus health services? No can do. When your child turns 18, you are no longer considered his legal representative. Under the federal Health Information Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA, your teen’s health records are between him and his health care provider. If you need access, and your child agrees, he may grant you durable power of attorney, which authorizes you to make health care decisions for him, even if he is not incapacitated. (However, if your goal is to turn your child into a competent, independent adult, you might want to think twice about this option.)
Insurance: Under the 2010 U.S. health reform act, young adults can be covered by family health insurance policies through age 26. Be sure to check with your insurance agent or CHECK BELOW for three ways to get health coverage for your not-yet-employed child.
Financial Privacy: Want to discuss your child’s credit card balance or financial account status with his college or bank? His finances are as private as yours. You may still have access to any joint accounts you’ve set up with him, but no college purser or bank officer will break confidentiality laws for your teen’s private accounts. Most colleges, however, offer teens the option of granting their parents access to tuition and housing bills. (P.S. Most also allow teens to charge books, sweatshirts and other campus bookstore purchases to their campus accounts. Setting some guidelines would be a smart move.)
Grades and Academic Records: Similarly, your son or daughter’s relationship with professors and college administrators is also private. Paying your child’s college tuition does not give you access to his grades.
Your New Role: And finally, your job has changed dramatically, from 24/7 parenting to advisor. Need a good place to start? Sit down and discuss your teen’s new legal status with him.
INSURANCE FOR YOU NON-EMPLOYED CHILD
Most young adults seem to think they’re immortal, so it’s no big deal when they suddenly age out of mom and dad's medical benefits. But all it takes is one accident or one case of appendicitis, and suddenly, disaster looms. Under the 2010 federal health reform act, which takes effect Sept. 23, 2010, your child's health coverage will continue until he or she turns 26. But for younger 20somethings caught in the gap between graduation and implementation, or older 20somethings who have aged out, here are four ways to find medical coverage.
Gap insurance: More than 60 major insurance carriers, including Blue Cross, Aetna and Kaiser, are offering stopgap insurance to bridge the months between graduation and implementation in 2010. Check with your insurance company now.
Short term health insurance: This quick solution to the health care crunch offers coverage for anywhere from a few months up to a year. It’s easy to get. Your child can apply online. Coverage starts almost immediately, and it's not too pricey. Costs for a 22-year-old non-smoking male, for example, ranged from $50 to $112 per month, with a $2,500 deductible, in 2008. But these policies only cover accidents and sudden serious illnesses, not preventative care, pre-existing conditions or that Hep B vaccine he somehow missed.
COBRA: You can continue your child's coverage under your family's policy for up to three years under the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act or COBRA, but you’ll have to pay the considerable premiums yourself, including the share that your company was paying before. But this may be a good option if your child has pre-existing health conditions or he wants to continue with his family doctor.(Note: In 2014, pre-existing health conditions will no longer be legal grounds for denying coverage.)
Alumni association insurance:If your child has graduated from college, have him check with his alumni association for health plans. UC Berkeley, for example, offers its graduates several health coverage options, including short-term insurance and Blue Shield Major Medical. Apply for the latter within 90 days of graduation, and your new grad will be accepted despite any pre-existing condition
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