Employee's kid is no longer dependent. Does he get COBRA?

This used to be a pretty straighfoward answer. Under the old rules, the carrier's rules were that if a child turned 19 and was no longer a full time student, they were no longer eligible for coverage and COBRA was offered for 36 months.

Under the new Health Care Law, kids can stay on their parents plan until age 26, more or less no questions asked. So, the term "dependent" used to be what ever the carrier said it was. Now, federal law says children can stay on their parents plan until age 26.

So, once the kid turns 26, that's it. No COBRA, right?

Wrong. The rule is still the same. The only thing that's changed is that the carriers no longer decide who is and who is not dependent. The Feds say age 26, and that's it.

36 months of COBRA is offered when the child loses coverage at 26 (or the end of the year if the plan chooses that method).