Health Insurance at Age 26: Leaving Your Parent's Plan
You'll typically lose coverage through your parent's health insurance when you turn 26.
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You'll typically lose coverage from your parent's health insurance plans after you turn 26. If you're in this situation, you should consider buying a marketplace health plan. The government offers discounts, called subsidies, that can significantly lower your monthly rate.
If you earn a low income, you may also be eligible for free government health insurance, called Medicaid.
Losing health insurance at 26
In most states, turning 26 means you can't stay on a parent's health insurance plan.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also called "Obamacare", set this rule for health insurance. Before the passage of the ACA, many young adults lost their coverage at a younger age.
With this rule, you can stay on your parent's insurance until you're 26 even if you're:
- Married
- A current student or out of school
- No longer a dependent
- A parent
- Eligible for employer health insurance
How long can you stay on your parent's insurance after you turn 26?
When you lose coverage as a 26-year-old depends on the type of health insurance your parents have.
- Parent's employer coverage: You'll lose your parent's coverage at the end of your birthday month.
- Parent's marketplace coverage: Coverage lasts through Dec. 31 of the year you turn 26, regardless of your birthday.
Best health insurance options when you turn 26
In 2025, a Silver health insurance plan costs an average of $498 per month for a 26-year-old paying full price. Young adults have access to the cheapest rates because the cost of health insurance goes up as you get older.
Before choosing an insurance plan as a young adult, you need to decide what you need and how much you can afford.
If you are healthy, you often can get by with a cheaper plan that offers less coverage. But if you have an ongoing illness, you may need a plan with strong coverage.
It's a good idea to consider other important factors like if you'll need coverage for children or a spouse, your savings and the monthly rate you can afford.
Employer plans: Best if your job offers coverage
Coverage through your job is usually the best option for health insurance if you can get it. That's because your employer will typically pay for most of the monthly costs.
There are a few downsides to employer health insurance you should keep in mind. For example, your workplace may only offer one plan. Alternatively, you may have access to plans that don't let you see your favorite doctor or that force you to travel long distances for medical care. Keep in mind that you'll have to pay quite a bit more to get around these limitations with an individual health plan.
Marketplace plans: Best choice if you don't have employer coverage
You should consider a plan from the ACA marketplace if you are self-employed, a gig worker or you don't have coverage through a job. You may qualify for discounts, also called premium tax credits or subsidies, if you have a low income.
These discounts can make your coverage very affordable. Many people pay less than $10 per month for their marketplace health insurance after subsidies.
ACA marketplace plans are broken into plan tiers.
- Silver plans have affordable rates and middle-of-the-road costs when you go to the hospital. This makes Silver plans a great option for healthy people and their dependents who mostly need routine care such as regular doctor visits, X-rays and lab work.
- Gold and Platinum plans have the most expensive monthly costs, but you'll pay very little when you go to the doctor. These insurance plans are a good option if you have an ongoing illness. However, the plans are usually not a good choice if you don't need a lot of health care services.
- Catastrophic and Bronze health plans are often the cheapest insurance plans on the marketplace. They could be a good choice if you're in good health and rarely visit the hospital. But you'll have to pay a lot of money before most coverage starts because these plans have high deductibles. You also can't get government subsidies with a Catastrophic plan.
Discounts for marketplace health insurance
You may be eligible for ACA subsidies if you make between about $15,000 and $60,000 per year (roughly $31,000 and $125,000 for a family of four), or if you spend more than 8.5% of your annual income on health insurance. . The size of your discount depends on how much money you make: the less you make, the larger your subsidy.
Note that you won't qualify for tax credits if you turn down an employer-based plan or if you're listed as a dependent on another person's income taxes.
Medicaid coverage: Best for those who have a low income
Medicaid offers free or cheap health insurance for people who have a low income.
Medicaid is a good option if you're unemployed or if your job does not offer health insurance. Income eligibility is different in each state. In most states, you can qualify for Medicaid if you make less than about $22,000 ($44,000 for a family of four).
In 10 states, you need to earn a low income and meet another qualifying condition to qualify for Medicaid.
Alabama Florida Georgia Kansas Mississippi South Carolina Tennessee Texas Wisconsin WyomingCOBRA: Expensive but good for a coverage gap
If you're aging off your parent's workplace insurance, you can stay on the same plan through COBRA(the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act).
Insurance through COBRA usually doesn't make sense because of the high monthly cost. That's why COBRA should only be used to bridge short coverage gaps until you can find a permanent health care plan.
For example, if you've already met the plan's yearly deductible, you may want to use COBRA to stay on the same plan until the end of the policy year.
Student health plans: Private insurance plans that are good for students
You can buy a student health plan if you're still a college or graduate student. Some companies let you pay for the entire year up front, and these plans travel with you wherever you study in the United States.
If you start at one university and then transfer to another university, the coverage comes with you.
College and university plans: Good for on-campus health care
Some colleges offer a school health insurance plan for full-time students. This could be a good health insurance option for older students who can't continue their parent's coverage. It's also useful for any student who is attending school out of state.
Let's say, for example, a student from Texas is covered under a parent's HMO (health maintenance organization) in Texas and is attending college in Ohio. In that case, they might have to travel back to Ohio to visit the doctor. It would make sense for the student to have their own health insurance plan in Ohio through a college or university.
One of the advantages of choosing a school policy is the monthly cost can be grouped with your tuition, room and board. That makes it possible to use student loans to pay for your health insurance costs.
School-sponsored health care may not cover services outside of the university. For example, if you're back home for the holidays, you might not get coverage when you visit your local hospital.
Short-term plans: Cheap and offer some coverage during a gap
You can also turn to short-term policies to bridge coverage gaps. This can be useful in situations when you're waiting for another insurance policy to begin.
It is important to note short-term plans do not have to cover health problems you already have. They also don't have to offer the same level of coverage as regular health insurance policies.
Short-term plans are typically used for protection against emergencies until you can get longer-term insurance.
States that let you keep your parent's coverage after age 26
In eight states, you can stay on your parent's health insurance plans well past the age of 26.
- Florida
- Illinois
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
Each state has different rules about who's allowed to stay on their parent's health plan and for how long. For example, some states only let you stay on your parent's plan if you're a veteran, student or you meet another qualifying condition.
States that let you stay on your parent's health insurance past age 26
State | Can you stay on your parent's health plan after 26 |
|---|---|
| Alabama | No |
| Alaska | No |
| Arizona | No |
| Arkansas | No |
| California | No |
The requirements for staying on a parent's health insurance policy depend on where you live. For example, Florida residents and students can stay on their parent's health insurance until age 30 if they're unmarried, have no children and can't get employer health insurance or Social Security Benefits.
But, South Dakota residents can only keep their parent's coverage after age 26 if they're a current student.
Florida
Eligibility requirements
- State resident or student
- Unmarried
- No children
- Not eligible for another group insurance plan or Social Security Benefits
Illinois
Nebraska
Eligibility requirements
- State resident or full-time student
- Unmarried
- Must not have other health insurance
New Jersey
Eligibility requirements
- State resident or full-time student
- Unmarried
- No children
- Must not have other health insurance
New York
Eligibility requirements
- Live or work in NY
- Unmarried
- Not eligible for insurance through work
- Not covered by Medicare
Pennsylvania
Eligibility requirements
- State resident or a full-time student
- Unmarried
- No dependent children
- Doesn't have other health insurance
South Dakota
Wisconsin
Eligibility requirements
- Full-time student
- Called to active military duty while a full-time student under the age of 27
There's no age limit on how long you can keep your parent's health insurance if you have a mental or physical disability that prevents you from supporting yourself in the following states.
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
How does a special enrollment period work?
When you lose your parent's health coverage, you're allowed to enroll in a marketplace plan outside of the regular enrollment periods, called a special enrollment period (SEP).
You can enroll in coverage 60 days before your coverage ends and up to 60 days after coverage ends.
It's a good idea to make sure your new health insurance policy starts on the same day your old policy ends.
In other words, if you enroll in a health care plan on Jan. 3, coverage does not usually start on Jan. 4. That means it's important to enroll in a plan early so that coverage starts when you need it to.
Frequently asked questions
Can you stay on your parent's insurance after age 26?
In most states, you can't stay on your parent's insurance after age 26 unless you have a qualifying disability. In eight states — Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin — you can stay on your parent's health insurance plans past the age of 26.
In these states, you may need to meet certain requirements, such as being unmarried, a veteran or a student to keep your parent's coverage.
How much does health insurance cost for a 26-year-old?
A Silver health insurance plan through the marketplace costs an average of $498 per month for a 26-year-old. You may qualify for discounts, called subsidies,if you earn between $15,060 and $60,240 a year ($31,200 and $124,800 for a family of four).
When does health insurance end for 26-year-olds?
You can stay on your parent's marketplace health plan until Dec. 31, even if you turn 26 earlier in the year. If you have coverage through your parent's employer plan, you usually have until the end of the month when you turn 26 before coverage ends.
How does a 26-year-old get health insurance?
The best way for a 26-year-old to get health insurance is through their employer or their state health exchange. If you earn a low income, you may be eligible for free government health insurance, called Medicaid.
Sources
Information about health insurance age eligibility requirements is from HealthCare.gov. State-level data is from the National Conference of State Legislatures and the state government websites of Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Other information about ACA marketplace subsidies came from KFF.
Editorial note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.
