House votes to extend medical leave coverage for college students

The House on Wednesday by voice vote approved a bill (HR 2851) that would allow college students who take medical leave to continue to receive health insurance under the policies of their parents, the AP/Boston Globe reports (AP/Boston Globe, 7/30).

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.), would allow eligible college students to continue to receive health insurance under the policies of their parents for up to one year. Many health insurers allow children to receive coverage under the policies of their parents until age 25, provided that they remain enrolled in college, but federal law does not require the practice.

According to CQ Today, some Republicans raised concerns about the additional requirements that the bill would impose on health insurers. However, Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) said, "I think the bill before us today is a very narrowly tailored solution to an extremely rare problem that results from a very small number of bad actors" (Wayne, CQ Today, 7/30).

A companion bill (S 400), sponsored by Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.), has not received a vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Rep. Michael Castle (R-Del.) said that he expects the Senate to pass the legislation, but Hodes said that he remains uncertain (Blair Wyckoff, CQ HealthBeat, 7/31).