New Rules on Extension of Health Plan Coverage to Children Up to Age 26

An interim final rule implementing the mandatory extension of health plan coverage to children up to age 26, as passed under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (together, the Affordable Care Act), has been released. The regulations were issued by the so-called tri-agency task force1 that is developing many of the rules for provisions of the Affordable Care Act that affect employer health plans. With the regulations, the agencies also released a Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions. This latest guidance follows the April 27 release of Internal Revenue Service Notice 2010-38, which clarified the tax treatment of mandatory coverage for adult children under the Affordable Care Act. This Legal Alert summarizes the regulations regarding the extension of dependent coverage to age 26 and highlights the provisions of Notice 2010-38 applicable to the rule.