The Wall Street Journal (4/19, Johnson), reports that starting today, UnitedHealth Group, Inc. intends to begin allowing graduating college seniors to remain on their parents' health insurance plans, a move which puts the insurer ahead in terms of complying with a health reform provision that will take effect in September. This change is expected to affect about 150,000 graduating students for whom UnitedHealth provides employer-sponsored coverage. Notably, UnitedHealth said that it already allows dependent coverage until age 26 for its private insurance plans. The Journal says that this change indicates that UnitedHealth is taking swift action to implement the new healthcare law.

        UnitedHealth CEO Culled $100M Exercising Stock Options In 2009. The Washington Post (4/16, Hilzenrath) reported that UnitedHealth CEO Stephen J. Hemsley "reaped almost $100 million from exercising stock options last year, the company reported Thursday." According to a report filed with the SEC, UnitedHealth "exercised 4.9-million options in February 2009 at a gain of $98.6 million. ... The options were awarded almost a decade earlier." Meanwhile, Hemsley's 2009 compensation was "a less-stratospheric $8.9 million, up from $3.2 million in 2008. The 2009 total included a salary of $1.3 million, which was unchanged from the previous year, and a cash bonus of $2 million, up from $1.8 million the year before. It also included $5.6 million attributed to stock-related awards."

     Assurant Health already has something similar in place.  As long as the person is still living in the same home or attending college, the person can remain on the family policy that they currently have.  If the person either marries or moves out of the house, except to go to college, at that point the person would lose coverage under his or her parents.

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