(Host) Congressman Peter Welch is advocating for a bill that would permit people as old as 27 to remain on their parents’ health insurance plan.
VPR’s Ross Sneyd has the story.
(Sneyd) Donna Watts of Plainfield says her son, Kerry, has racked up thousands of dollars in medical bills since a serious traffic accident this summer.
He didn’t have health insurance through his job and he’d been dropped from his parents’ policy because he’s not in school.
(Watts) "If he’d been allowed to stay on my health plan after he left college at 19, he would not be in this situation today."
(Sneyd) Donna Watts says she and her husband would gladly pay a little more for their premium if a plan advocated by Congressman Peter Welch became law.
Welch says a lot of families are in the same boat.
(Welch) "As I travel around and I talk to parents, every one is very anxious about what happens when their child goes off their policy. And there’s nothing they can do about it except really, really worry."
(Host) Nationally, 30 percent of people younger than 29 go without health insurance.
And 22 percent of Vermonters ages 18 to 24 have no insurance. Here’s Peter Sterling of the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security.
(Sterling) "We give young people the access to affordable health care through VHAP and Catamount once they get off their parents’ plan. Once you leave college, you can get in VHAP or Catamount for anywhere from $30 to $150 a month. But young people are still not enrolling … because they don’t want to spend the money or they don’t have the money because they’re working at low-paying jobs."
(Host) Welch says his proposal would take effect immediately, so it would quickly extend coverage to thousands. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she’s committed to making the initiative part of Congress’ national health overhaul.
For VPR News, I’m Ross Sneyd.