Adult dependents can live on their parents’ group or individual health-insurance plans till the age of 26 under the new federal health-care overhaul provision which took effect last month.

The child need not be in college or live with parents to qualify under the new provision. He or she can be married too, although the spouse of a child cannot be put on a parents’ plan.

Most parents of such adult children and college-going children may wonder if this is the way to go or should adult kids stick to their options like an individual health-insurance policy, public health programs for low-income adults or student health plans.

Presently almost 30 percent adults between the ages of 19 to 29 are not insured which is a problem to be address by the law. Few states which include New Jersey and New Mexico already have similar laws. Age limits, however, varied.

The new law is applicable to all health-insurance plans created after March 2010. Parents can also put adult children on their Cobra plan which permits terminated workers to continue under their former employer’s group health-insurance plan.