How Long Can You Keep A Child On Your Health Insurance? 
One of the first changes to come from the passage of the Affordable Care Act -LRB- ObamaCare -RRB- when it was passed in March of 2010 was to extend the period of time that a child could be covered as a dependent under their parent 's major medical insurance . Children can be covered under their parent 's health plan up to age 26 . The child does not have to be dependent uponthe parent and it does not matter if the child is employed and has coverage available through their job or if they are married and could be covered under their spouse 's health insurance . 