According to a national survey of college students, graduates and parents, conducted in April 2011 by global insights firm Kelton Research and sponsored by eHealthInsurance (EHTH), 38 percent of parents do not plan to keep their adult children on their health insurance plan until age 26, despite the fact that the 2010 health care reform law now allows them to do so.

Also, 43 percent of parents of college students or grads under age 26 said they would only keep their adult children on their health insurance plan if it cost them nothing to do so.

The eHealthInsurance survey reveals this to be an unpopular option with many parents who may want to encourage their new grads toward financial independence. More than half of parents surveyed (56 percent) expect to provide their child with financial assistance for only a year or less, or not at all, after graduation. However, 63 percent of current college students think it's only fair for parents to help them cover their health insurance costs for a year or more after graduation.

A majority of both the students and grads surveyed expect to receive health insurance coverage as a benefit of employment. However, the survey documents a division between expectations and reality, and recent grads have a more pragmatic approach to health coverage. Students (38 percent) and grads (39 percent) said they would pass on a job that didn't offer health insurance than any other benefit. However, only 31 percent of grads report having employer-based health insurance.

Full results of the Students and Grads Survey and the Parents Survey are available at the eHealthInsurance Media Center.

Special Reports /

IQ: Grads May Not Get Health Insurance from Mom and Dad: eHealthInsurance Survey

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