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"You never know what’s going to happen and if you support dependent coverage for selfish reasons, like “it could be me one day,” that’s fine. But you know everyone at some time at their life will need something -- whether it’s a cold, MS or a broken leg." -Brooke R., Philadelphia, PA

"We're taught that police and military protection exist for everyone, not just people with money. So if we're protecting from crime and protecting national security, how is it that we're not protecting against injury, disease and bodily harm which are much more common? There's no excuse for a society not to have universal health care. It's a human right." -Brendan L., Houston, TX

"I just think it's the right thing to do. Colleges can drop a big chunk of change on renovating a building or something like that. We just said take a piece of that and put it into your employees. We didn't have to have rallies, make signs, there were no sit-ins, that kind of disappointed me." -Paul R., Carlisle, PA

"My daughter plans to transfer to a four-year college but lacks enough credits to transfer until next year. She can't take a full course load this year or she will have too many credits to transfer next year. Under the old rules, I would not have been able to provide medical coverage for her since she wouldn't be a full-time student. But with the new rules, I can still cover her while she waits to get into school next year. This is great news for our family and we now have one less thing to worry about." -Joanne P., Palo Alto, CA

"My son is 23. When he was a child he was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and it’s difficult for him to get coverage. He’s working in retail now but he doesn’t qualify for health insurance. We’re hopeful for him to come back on our plan at the next enrollment period. We’ve been uneasy with him not having coverage." -Delores A., Irondale, AL

"I grew up with a handicapped brother and I saw what my parents had to do with no help. I feel this way about kids with learning disabilities like my son's: they can get there, it just takes them longer, they just need that support. Having healthcare until he's 26 brings peace of mind. It's essential." -Linda M., Fresno, CA

"I support dependent coverage because when I graduated, I got the “Doc in the Box” from the Internet, $50 month, emergency-only. Luckily, I’m fairly healthy, so I didn’t have to go to the doctor for any reason, but had I had to, I don’t even want to think about what it would have cost me." -Katelyn B., Washington, DC

"I wish the policy was around when I was younger. I would have been able to take advantage of it. It's too late for me. But it's great for the future." -John B., Washington, DC

"I remember reading about the sputtering economy in 2006 when my son was halfway through college and hoping it would improve. He graduated in 2008 and the economy was worse. For young adults entering a marketplace where jobs are difficult to find, and those with health coverage even more so, staying on the parent’s policy is just logical." -Deborah H., Largo, MD

"Coverage is important because if you get sick any little problem could screw you up for the rest of your life. I think health care is a human right. Staying on your parent's plan is not a substitute for universal health care, but it’s a good thing in and of itself." -Seaton W., Washington, DC

"Dependent coverage is a good thing, because health insurance should be accessible to everyone. Those who aren’t insured still seek care when they absolutely need it, but having coverage will help everyone access appropriate, high quality care on a more regular basis." -Tamar Z., Washington, DC

"I’m glad I can stay on my mom’s insurance because when I look for a job or when I have to go to a doctor’s appointment, or if I get sick unexpectedly, I don’t have to worry about paying out of pocket and my parents don’t have to worry -- it’s added security." -Phoenix T., Framingham, MA

Featured Story

Nabil H. Simsbury, CT

Submitted: 09-29-2010

When Nabil graduates from Georgetown University next year, he can be pretty confident of two things: He’ll have a job and he’ll have health insurance.

A job with health insurance! In this economy, it’s every college senior’s dream, but it doesn’t quite work out that way. He’s likely to get the job because for the last two years, he’s been a part-time groundfloor employee with a business venture launched by two other Georgetown alumni. The health insurance will be courtesy of his mother and made possible by the new dependent coverage provision.

Down the road, the company for which he works, Compass Partners, which incubates social entrepreneurial ventures and offers social business training, aims to provide health insurance the usual way for all its employees. But in this embryonic stage of its development, it needs to focus all of its resources on growth and expansion. www.compasspartners.org

Nabil is seeing firsthand how the dependent coverage provision will help Compass Partners and could facilitate other young Americans in their efforts to innovate and build new small businesses.

“I think it creates a more certain environment for entrepreneurs like us trying to start off something really small that requires a lot of attention. It’s a very important piece of the puzzle. It allows young people to start their own businesses without risking serious financial harm to themselves if they got sick.”

In addition to his full senior coursework in International Political Economy, Nabil puts in about 25 hours a week at Compass Partners where he’s the DC regional director, coordinating three local campuses and working to add more. It’s enough to keep him constantly busy and he’s grateful that he hasn’t had to spend a lot of time worrying about or plotting his post-graduation health insurance scenario. And it helps that his mother works in the health insurance industry.

“I talked to my mom a lot about it -- because of her job she has to be informed -- and she mentioned that this was one of the provisions that would be very useful for people my age who might not necessarily be able to find a job after graduation, or who are doing their own thing, like I am.”

Nabil and his 20-something employers will continue to do their own thing, building a company with big goals and big ideas aimed at improving the world. And in part they’ll be able to do it because of the dependent care provision.

“The new law makes it so that we won’t necessarily have to jump into a job just to take the benefits. We’ll be able to see our business out until it’s successful and we can afford to pay for health insurance. It’s really nice to have this security, to have lower turnover and more stability in our personal lives.”

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