II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1500 

To give Americans access to affordable child-only health insurance coverage. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2011 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. ENZI, and Mr. ALEXANDER) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To give Americans access to affordable child-only health 

insurance coverage. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensure Children Have 

5 Health Care Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The minority staff of the Committee on 

9 Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Sen10 ate surveyed whether children under the age of 19 


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1 have access to child-only health insurance plans 

2 since the enactment of the Patient Protection and 

3 Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health 

4 Care and Education Reconciliation Act. The survey 

5 found that passage of the new health care law 

6 prompted health insurance carriers to stop selling 

7 new child-only health plans in many States. 

8 (2) Of the 50 States, 17 States reported that 

9 there are no health insurance carriers selling child10 only health plans to new enrollees in the State. 

11 (3) Thirty-nine States indicated that at least 

12 one health insurance carrier exited the child-only 

13 health insurance market in the State following en14 actment of the new health care law. 

15 (4) Accordingly, child-only health insurance ac16 cess and competition in the market have declined 

17 significantly since the passage of the new health care 

18 law. This precedent raises concerns about the impact 

19 that similar changes, which are scheduled to go into 

20 effect in 2014, will have in reducing access and com21 petition in the health insurance market. 

22 (5) Americans under the age of 19 should be 

23 able to get health insurance coverage in every State, 

24 and if it is not offered in their State, they should 


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1 be able to purchase health insurance coverage from 

2 another State. 

3 SEC. 3. PURCHASING CHILD-ONLY HEALTH INSURANCE 

4 ACROSS STATE LINES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi6 sion of law, effective on October 1, 2011, a health insur7 ance issuer that is licensed to offer child-only health insur8 ance coverage in a State may also offer such coverage to 

9 eligible residents of other States. The laws of the State 

10 in which the issuer is licensed shall apply with respect to 

11 any such coverage. 

12 (b) OPEN ENROLLMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

14 Health and Human Services shall provide for the applica15 tion of a uniform annual enrollment period of at least 45 

16 days with respect to child-only health insurance coverage 

17 to which this section applies. 

18 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

20 Human Services shall promulgate regulations to carry out 

21 this section, including regulations that— 

22 (1) provide protections to enrollees under such 

23 regulations; 


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1 (2) ensure the solvency of health insurance 

2 issuers that offer coverage under such regulations; 

3 and 

4 (3) clarify the procedures that would apply 

5 when an enrollee has a complaint concerning their 

6 coverage. 

7 (d) DEFINITIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The definitions contained in 

9 section 2791 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 300gg–91) shall apply for purposes of this 

11 section. 

12 (2) CHILD-ONLY HEALTH INSURANCE COV13 ERAGE.—The term ‘‘child-only health insurance cov14 erage’’ means health insurance coverage that is of15 fered only to individuals who are under 19 years of 

16 age. 

Æ 


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