Non-dependants in college -can I still put them on my health insurance plan?

I have two daughters who file their own taxes, which means i do not claim them as dependents. One lives at home (age 18 full time college and part time work) and the other has been away in another state for two years (age 21full time college and full time work) My question is on the new insurance plan - it states "dependents up to age 25 covered" Is there an advantage to making them dependent? What would I need to do to get them insurance coverage?

From Blue Cross Blue Shield:

My child will be going to college. Can I keep his or her coverage active?

Yes, provided your group health plan has our 鈥渇amily continuation鈥?(FC) or 鈥渄ependent continuation鈥?(DC) rider. Be sure to check your benefit guide or ask at work to see if your group health plan includes one of these riders.

If your organization offers one of the riders, you must apply for continuation coverage before December 31st of the year your dependent turns 19. Let us know your dependent is attending college, and we will send a letter annually to verify that his or her enrollment continues. Between the ages of 19 and 25, dependents can remain covered if they are:

Unmarried
Related to you by blood, marriage or legal adoption
Full-time students for at least five months of the year or have a gross income of less than four times the personal exemption amounts as defined by the Internal Revenue Service鈥檚 current code

So it looks like your 18 year old can be covered but your 21 year old cannot. The family continuation rider is pretty common but you need to check with your own health insurance carrier to determine if their rules differ from those above.

My guess is that your younger daughter would qualify as long as she maintains full time student status. You older daughter is not your dependent any longer.

As long as they are in college "full Time", it is cheaper to add them to your policy than to get their own policies.

You could always ask them to pay the difference of what it costs to add them or just suck up the entire amount.

You need to look at the eligibility criteria for your health plan. (There's a specific section for it on your policy.)

Many (actually, most) employers set up their benefit plan so that children who can be claimed for federal income tax purposes are allowed to be claimed as dependents on your health insurance.

I work on dependent eligibility audits. (Where employees are requested to provide documentation to show that dependents being claimed are legitimate dependents.) Typically, the information for a child that would be requested would be a birth certificate (showing you as a parent) and proof of financial dependency (either a tax document showing that you claim her for federal income tax purposes or a school document showing that she's registered at your address, which proves that she lives with you).

Based on that experience (auditing dependents for a variety of companies), I'd suspect that your younger daughter is eligible to be claimed on your benefits - even though she files her own taxes, she lives with you.. And your older daughter is not - she works full time and hasn't lived with you for 2 years.

Again though, check with your company to be certain that they don't define it differently.

Edit to add: mbcratz - Sorry, but there *are* employers who specifically write into their criteria that a child or stepchild must be claimed for federal income tax purposes in order to be eligible as a dependent. I could name you a dozen large national companies who do it, and that's just the ones I'd rattle off the top of my head. Yes, the tax documentation is only relevant if it explicitly states it in the Summary Plan Document/Certificate of Coverage. But its misleading to say that its not *ever* related.

Dependent status is NOT related to tax status. If you provide more than 50% of their living expenses, like the daughter that lives at home, or even if you pay the tuition for the daughter away (as long as she uses your residence as her LEGAL residence), they're your dependents.

Every employer-sponsored health plan is different, so you will need to check with them regarding eligibility requirements. (For instance, some plans still require that you must prove that you provide at least 50% of the financial support for the dependent by presenting a copy of your tax returns. Other plans allow you to cover anyone who is actually your natural or stepchild.)

If they do not have coverage elsewhere or if there is a benefit to switching them to your plan, I think you should go for it. You will have not problems with the 18 year old until she turns 19. At age 19, most employers just require that you present proof of full-time college student status (like a student certification from the registrar or a class schedule showing 12 hours.)

Good luck!

As long as they are full time college students, you can possibly cover them on your insurance. I've been filing taxes since I was 12, and that had no bearing on my dependent status.
In general, the insurance will be cheaper than a private plan.