"I heard I can keep my adult child on my health insurance until age 26. But do I have to?"

Q: I heard I can keep my adult children on my health insurance until they turn 26. But what if I don't want to?

A: Then don't. Health care reform permits -- but doesn't require -- parents to keep their adult children on the parent's health plan up to age 26, unless the children have coverage through their own employer.

That said, you may want to provide coverage if you can afford it. No one is immune from bad luck, and rates for medical care when a person has no insurance can be very high indeed.

Also: if your child doesn't have a job or has a job that doesn't offer health coverage, you may be able to extend your coverage to him/her more cheaply than they could buy an individual policy on their own.