Joco Today

Representative Sharice Davids reintroduced the Empowering Parents’ Healthcare Choices Act, a bill designed to cut insurer red tape, avoid surprise bills, and give parents decision-making power over their infant’s health care—not the insurance company.

Currently, many expecting parents with separate health insurance policies are subject to an obscure and often undisclosed rule known as “the birthday rule,” which determines the insurance policy that will cover a new baby—regardless of what the parents want. Insurance companies often do not inform parents of this policy, which can result in surprise medical bills for growing families. That’s what happened to the Kjelshus family of Olathe, KS, when they welcomed their daughter Charlie to the world—leaving them with a $270,951 out-of-network hospital billeven though they had planned for Charlie’s birth based on the coverage they expected to use.

The Empowering Parents’ Healthcare Choices Act would give parents 60 days after the birth of their child to choose which insurance policy will cover their new baby. It would also give the Administration authority to instruct insurers on how and when to notify parents of their rights, helping more families avoid frustrating red tape, surprise bills, and insurance policy mazes.

 “Welcoming a child into your family should be a joyful event, free from undue stress and financial burden at the hands of insurance companies,” said Davids. “This is a simple fix that gives parents the power over their baby’s health care coverage, so they can make an informed choice about their family’s future. For the Kjelshus family and countless others, I am proud to once again introduce the Empowering Parents’ Healthcare Choices Act.”

“We thought we had everything prepared for our daughter’s arrival, but the ‘birthday rule’ ended up putting us in an unexpected and financially stressful back-and-forth with insurance companies for over a year,” said Mikkel and Kayla Kjelshus of Olathe, KS. “We are glad that Rep. Davids is bringing attention to this issue, which affects so many families and can put incredible strain on what should be a happy time. Just by giving the power and knowledge to families on their health care decision, this bill would make a big difference in every new parents’ life.”

“First Focus Campaign for Children applauds Congresswoman Sharice Davids for addressing an important but often overlooked coverage barrier for new parents,” said Bruce Lesley, President, First Focus Campaign for Children. “We think parents should decide which parent has the right insurance coverage for their new baby, not the insurance companies. Let’s ensure that families don’t incur unnecessary medical debt after the birth of a child simply because of an outdated and arbitrary ‘birthday rule.’ We hope Congress will quickly pass The Empowering Parents’ Healthcare Choices Act.” 

Davids is a fierce advocate for making health care affordable and accessible to all Kansans. She supported legislation to protect patients from out-of-network surprise medical bills, which shielded patients from millions of surprise bills since passage. This law included Davids’ original legislation to improve insurer transparency, helping patients avoid unintentional out-of-network health care visits. Last year, Davids also voted for major legislation that gave Medicare the power to negotiate down the price of prescription drugs, capped insulin costs for Kansans on Medicare at $35 a month, and capped Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 per year.

Original source can be found here.