House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

Posted:	April 14, 2021 11:30 AM
From:	Representative Mark Longietti
To:	All House members
Subject:	Health insurance coverage for children up to age 26

I invite your co-sponsorship of legislation giving parents the option of retaining health insurance coverage for their children up to age 26. While current Pennsylvania law does allow this coverage to be offered to adult children up to age 30, under certain eligibility requirements, that option is only at the discretion of the policyholder (typically employer) and not the parent. In too many cases, policyholders refuse this option. While current federal law, through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), does provide for this optional coverage for children up to age 26, the ACA is also being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of California v. Texas, and future court challenges could be filed. My legislation will enshrine this optional benefit into state law, independent of the other features of the ACA. However, in order to be consistent with the current federal option, my bill also sets the age for the parental option for children up to 26 years old. I hope that you will co-sponsor this important legislation which will provide coverage for many young adults who have difficulty securing workplace health insurance benefits early in their careers.
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Introduced as HB1521