Regional Highlights Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Adult Child Health Care Coverage Bill
Advances
The Wisconsin Senate unanimously passed legislation that would
enable employers to offer coverage to employees' adult children up
to age 26 without employees being taxed on the coverage.
The measure, S.B. 203, would conform Wisconsin tax law to the
federal health care reform law, which requires such an extension of
coverage to employees' children up to age 26.
Subsequent Internal Revenue Service rules said the coverage can
be extended on a tax-free basis through the end of the year in
which the child turns 26.
Previously, the U.S. Tax Code allowed tax-free coverage of
employees' children up to age 19 or up to age 24 if the child was a
full-time college student.
Currently, Wisconsin is the only state that has not conformed
its tax law to federal tax law on the extension of coverage to
employees' adult children.
More than a dozen states, including California, have changed
their laws since the start of the year. The remaining states either
automatically conform their tax laws any time federal tax law
changes or do not impose income taxes. Nationally, about 1 million
young adults gained health insurance during the first quarter of
2011 due to the adult child coverage requirement, the Department of
Health and Human Services reported.
