UTC Extends Adult Dependent Health Coverage Early

May 14, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – United Technologies Corp. (UTC) will extend health care coverage to adult children of its employees up to age 26 on July 1.

UTC said in a company news release that the extension includes unmarried dependent children up to age 26 not currently in its plans, and that the coverage will be provided “at the same rates employees are paying today for dependent coverage, without surcharge”.

According to the announcement, United Technologies will continue coverage of employees’ adult children already enrolled in its plans who would have lost coverage for reasons such as graduation.  On July 1, coverage will be offered to employees’ adult children up to age 26 regardless of whether they are currently covered, unless they are eligible to enroll in another employer’s health care plan.

“We think this is the right thing to do for our employees and is consistent with our practices of providing our employees with very competitive benefits,” J. Thomas Bowler Jr., United Technologies senior vice president-human resources and organization, said in the company statement posted on the UTC Web site. 

The coverage is being provided ahead of the federal deadlines to do so under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to UTC (see What Do Plan Sponsors Need to Be Worried About Within the Next Year Under PPACA?).

Humana, Kaiser Permanente, and WellPoint previously announced they would also extend coverage to adult children ahead of the reform deadline (see Insurers Beat Health Care Reform Deadline on Adult Children Coverage), as has Unum (see Unum to Cover Adult Children Ahead of Reform Deadline).   

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