Young adults, aged 18 to 24, usually have no medical coverage. When your children reach this age range, they are usually dropped as dependents in your medical plans. But what happens if your son or daughter suddenly becomes ill and is rushed to the emergency room? How do you pay for such emergencies? You can get medical coverage for your children, who belong in this age bracket, through short-term health insurance, COBRA, and alumni association insurance. Short-term or temporary health insurance is a quick way of getting medical coverage for your young adult. It can pay for the medical epenses of your son or daughter for a few months to a year, and sometimes even up to three years. You can apply for short-term health insurance online. Once your application is approved, then you immediately have medical coverage for your son or daughter. But if you do decide to buy one, make sure you check the amount of monthly premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket amounts, provisions for preventive care, coverage for pre-eisting conditions, and any provisions on vaccines. Another option is COBRA insurance. You can continue the medical coverage of your son or daughter under your family’s COBRA policy for three years. During this time, however, you would have to shoulder the amount of the monthly premiums that your company was paying when your son or daughter was still a dependent of your health plan. This arrangement is practical especially if your child has pre-eisting conditions or if you want him/her to be continuously treated by your family doctor. The medical coverage offered by the Alumni Association Insurance, meanwhile, is another option if your son or daughter has graduated from college. Some universities offer health plans through their alumni associations. You might want to check the medical coverage of the health plans being offered by the universities where your child graduated from. Applications to the health plans offered by alumni associations need to be made 90 days after your son or daughter have graduated from college. After which, you are assured of medical coverage for your child, including any pre-eisting conditions that he or she might have. Answer by Marlena-- June 9, 2009 @ 10:40 pm