(NationalUSNews.com) — Employers throughout the United States could follow a company named Juno’s example and provide disability insurance for employees’ children, a shocking new benefit that no other United States business has implemented.
Juno released a statement confirming that it would start selling a benefit that provides parents with various payments to assist in costs related to helping their children. The new insurance benefit primarily applies to children suffering from disabilities or severe illnesses but could expand to include lesser ailments soon.
Juno’s new disability insurance coverage expands the coverage of typical employer insurance agreements, which usually only accommodate an employee suffering from a disability. Disability coverage fails to consider the costs of a child who needs care, costs that parents can’t afford without financial assistance. Juno aims to reduce the costs for parents attempting to provide aid to a disabled child and prevent the hardships associated with full-time child care. According to Juno’s managing director, Hall Kesmodel, disabled children are the most significant risk that most insurance benefits fail to cover within the United States.
Juno’s new disability benefit would encompass anyone under 26 years of age and cover a variety of medical conditions. Among the disabilities and illnesses covered by Juno’s new policy are Down syndrome, cancer, and, in some instances, COVID-19. The latest coverage plan would cost one of Juno’s employees approximately $16 per month and provide more than $200,000 per child to employees. Juno employees can pay more or less per month to change how much coverage they receive and would pay the installments for ten years.
Despite Juno’s efforts to help parents with disabled children avoid financial hardship, some economic experts believe the policy won’t create meaningful change nationwide. According to Bridget Bearden, a researcher associated with the Employee Benefit Research Institute, Juno’s new coverage plan isn’t a viable solution to the ongoing crisis for Americans who must care for their young or old family members. Bearden said that the United States has to address the “caregiving crisis” and find a permanent solution for parents struggling to work full-time jobs while also caring for their disabled children.
Juno’s new coverage policy comes during an ongoing trend regarding childbearing, which saw the average age of new mothers increase substantially over several decades. Medical experts cite the higher age of mothers as a contributing factor to the prevalence of congenital disabilities or a child’s increased risk of developing a disability, which could grow worse as medical technology further increases the length of fertility.
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