On the heels of WellPoint and UnitedHealthcare announcing plans to close a coverage gap for young adults before federal health reform efforts kick in, Aetna and all Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies announced they would do the same.

All 39 independent Blues will allow adult children up to age 26 to remain covered on their parents’ policy from the time most of their coverage ends, June 1, through Sept. 23, when health reform law mandates coverage be made available.

Coverage could cease in June for thousands of young people for a number of reasons,  including their age and student status, if completing college, for example.

Scott Serota

Like their competitors, the Blues said they will extend the coverage to employer accounts for members to eliminate any gap in delivery of care.

In a statement, Scott P. Serota, president and chief executive officer for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, said all Blues, covering nearly 100 million Americans, are  “committed to working collaboratively with the [Obama] Administration, Congress, state regulators, and all stakeholders to provide for an effective and workable implementation of the new healthcare reform law.”

“By proactively making this change now, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans are working to enhance and preserve coverage for as many Americans as possible,” he said.

Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna announced it would also join the cadre of insurers working to close the coverage gap nationwide.

In a statement, the company said it understands the concerns of young people and “we are working with our customers to allow young adults to remain on their parents’ plan until the dependent coverage requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act go into effect later this year.

“We believe this is in the best interests of our members and is in keeping with the spirit of the health reform law,” the statement said.

Earlier this week, both UnitedHealthcare and WellPoint, as well as subsidiaries of both companies, announced that they would automatically retain young people that could have experienced the coverage gap until federal health reform begins.