House Bill No 440

The bill that we chose is “Accident and sickness insurance policies; coverage of children”, introduced by David J. Toscano, a Democrat from the 57th district of Virginia. It is House Bill no. 440, originally offered January 13, 2010, now referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor. This bill has been offered to revise to §§38.2-3500 and 38.2-3525 of the Code of Virginia, concerning insurance policies. The proposed changes are relating to who is covered under a family insurance policy. Under the existing bill, children cannot remain on a policy past the age of 19, but the proposed revision extends the age to 26. Furthermore, the revision allows for the addition of “qualified children”, defined as individuals who would be treated as a dependent child of the insured member, who is under 27 years old and is not otherwise insured. Lastly, full-time students will be able to remain under their parents’ policy even if they do not live in the same household as the insured group member until the age of 26.

This change is important because under the current bill, many young adults are forced to live without insurance coverage. They can graduate from college and find themselves unable to find a job, and are unable to afford insurance coverage. By extending the age, more people will be able to stay insured until they are able to afford their own insurance.