Posted: | September 17, 2013 03:59 PM |
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From: | Representative Anthony M. DeLuca and Rep. Mike Carroll |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Co-sponsorship of Legislation: Elimination of the Six Month Uninsured Waiting Period for CHIP. |
In the near future, I will be introducing legislation amending Article XXIII of the Insurance Company Law relating to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Specifically, my legislation will eliminate the “uninsured period”, which requires children to go six months without coverage before they can be enrolled in CHIP. In the last few years I have heard from a number of constituents who were struggling to find affordable insurance coverage for their children. These individuals met CHIP’s income requirements; however, were unable to obtain CHIP coverage until their children go uninsured for a period of six months. Unfortunately, this issue has become increasingly more common as more employers are choosing to offer employee only insurance coverage instead of traditional family coverage. As a result, parents are experiencing a situation in which they have insurance but their children do not. Further complicating the issue is the fact that insurers do not market and will not offer “child only” policies on the federal health insurance exchange. My legislation will address this issue directly by eliminating the required six month uninsured period. This will allow parents to obtain quality affordable health insurance coverage for their children, without forcing them to risk their child’s health and wellbeing by leaving them uninsured. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB1695