[Washington, DC] – Today, House Republicans introduced legislation that would
exempt insurance plans in existence before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from offering
consumer protections established by the ACA. These plans, referred to in the proposal
as “grandfathered health plans,” would be allowed to continue with current abuses and
rollback on patient benefits for millions of Americans with private coverage. In
particular, the GOP proposal would deny young adults up to age 26 from their parent’s
insurance, effectively reversing the dependent coverage provision of reform. An
estimated 1.2 million young adults could lose insurance coverage through their parent’s
health plans, and recent colleges graduates would be left without coverage as they try
to find a job in a challenging economy.