title: Impact of state laws that extend eligibility for parents' health insurance coverage to young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The 2010 Affordable Care Act mandates that health insurance companies make those up to age 26 eligible for their parents' policies. Thirty-four states previously enacted similar laws. The authors sought to examine the impact on access to care of state laws extending eligibility of parents' insurance to young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  By using a difference-in-differences analysis, we examined the 2002-2004 and 2008-2009 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System to compare 3 states enacting laws in 2005 or 2006 with 17 states that have not enacted laws on 4 outcomes: self-reported health insurance coverage, identification of a personal physician/clinician, physical exam from a physician within the past 2 years, and forgoing care in the past year due to cost.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For each outcome there was differential improvement among states enacting laws compared with states without laws. Health insurance differentially increased 0.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], -3.8% to 4.2%), from 67.6% to 68.1% pre-post in states enacting laws and from 68.5% to 68.7% in states without. Personal physician/clinician identification differentially increased 0.9% (95% CI -3.1% to 5.0%), from 62.4% to 65.5% in states enacting laws and from 58.0% to 60.2% in states without. Recent physical exams differentially increased significantly 4.6% (95% CI, 0%-9.2%), from 77.3% to 81.2% in states enacting laws and from 76.2% to 75.5% in states without. Forgone care due to cost differentially decreased significantly 3.9% (95% CI, -0.3% to -7.5%), from 20.4% to 18.2% in states enacting laws and from 17.8% to 19.4% in states without.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  States that expanded eligibility to parents' insurance in 2005 or 2006 experienced improvements in access to care among young adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Evidence & Policy, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA. alex.blum@mountsinai.org
authors.forename: Alexander B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Blum
authors.forename: Lawrence C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Kleinman
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Starfield
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ross
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004608:Eligibility Determination / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008297:Male; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011050:Policy Making; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D013221:State Health Plans / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult