The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released rules for the health reform measure that allows parents to keep dependents on their health insurance through age 25, which takes effect Sept. 23.

The rules mandate that pricing for dependents of any age be the same, though it sets no limits on the pricing. Some 65 insurers have agreed to implement the provision in June in advance of the mandated effective date. Employers who self-insure their employees will mostly wait until the effective date, analysts say.

"What we’re hearing from most of our members is they’re likely to apply this change … to the next plan year and do them all at the same time," Paul Dennett, a senior vice president at the American Benefits Council, a trade group representing employers and plan administrators who provide benefits for 100 million Americans, told the Wall Street Journal.

So far, none of his group’s members have informed him that they plan to implement the provision before they are required.

Employers who offer health insurance should also keep abreast of the rapid changes in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) privacy and security provisions, as well as changes to post-employment health care coverage under COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). Visit our HIPAA-COBRA compliance section today.