This year, graduates at the University of Connecticut and other Connecticut colleges who remain on their family’s health insurance plan can save an average of $1,779, according to a ConnPIRG policy brief released today at UConn. The savings are a direct result of a provision in the new federal health care law, which was enacted one year ago this week.

“The enormous costs and uncertainty that students once faced as a result of being unfairly dropped off their insurance at graduation are now a thing of the past,” said Michael Webb, ConnPIRG Campaign Coordinator and freshman. “New graduates are no longer forced to gamble on shoddy or costly plans on the individual market and instead can stay on the same health plans that their families have paid into for years. It’s one less thing to worry about after you get your degree.”

According to ConnPIRG’s brief, buying new coverage on the individual market costs an average of $1,779 a year for young adults, for benefits that are often skimpier than what is offered through a family’s employer-provided plan. If their parent or guardian is already paying into a plan, the new law means they can stay on that plan and won’t need to pay for individual coverage.

“My sister became ill her final semester of college, and without these health care reforms my family either would have gone bankrupt paying for her care or she would have died,” said Steven Waslo, a sophomore at UConn. “She would have been dropped just because she was one day out of school. This provision saved my sister’s life.”

As UConn’s Director of Health Services, Michael Kurland, said, “I cannot begin to tell you the countless number of situations I have witness involving students who have either had no access to health care coverage or had woefully inadequate, expensive coverage…. Now most people can remain on a family plan until age 26, a valuable option in this economy where it is very difficult to find a job with benefits after graduation.”

ConnPIRG also released a revised version of their consumer guide, The Young Person’s Guide to Health Insurance for Graduating Seniors, featuring a letter from President Obama - at an event at UConn Storrs. The event is one of a dozen coordinated events by student PIRG chapters around the country.

“One of the important insurance reforms included in the Affordable Care Act will help us keep our young adults healthy and productive,” said Dr. Garth Graham, deputy assistant secretary for minority health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Up to age 26, young adults may now stay on their parent's health plan, giving them not only continued access to quality care, but lower health care expenses and greater peace of mind. This is happening now as a result of the health insurance reform law."

The guides released today provide information to educate young people on the options and new consumer rights available to graduating seniors under the health care law.

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ConnPIRG is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization.