2009 Shaping Up To Be Year Of The Slacker

From Rochester to Riverhead, ne’er do wells rejoice:

Gov. David A. Paterson will propose that private employers be required to offer health insurance to workers’ dependents who are ages 19 to 29, part of what the administration hopes will be a step toward universal health care coverage in New York.

Mr. Paterson plans to call for the legislation during his State of the State address on Wednesday afternoon.

“This year, we will take another important step as we move toward increasing access to coverage for all New Yorkers,” Mr. Paterson said in a written statement on Tuesday.

Currently, employers are not required to offer health insurance to dependents who are older than 18 or, if they are in college, 22.

The proposal would amount to a wide expansion of coverage to some 800,000 people 19 to 29 years old who are uninsured. And it ties into a continuing initiative by Mr. Paterson, who is asking the State Legislature to approve deep cuts in spending this year, to enhance the kinds of social safety nets that are overwhelmed during an economic downturn.