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Olathe family headlines effort behind insurance bill

June 22, 2023

For one Olathe family, a bill in Congress could have made a $270,951 difference.

The Kjelshus family of Olathe recently welcomed their daughter Charlie to the world. The family planned to put Charlie on one parent’s insurance, but what's referred to as the "birthday rule" put her on the other. This became more significant due to the fact that Charlie required seven days in the neonatal intensive care unit, racking up $270,951 in charges.

“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,” Mikkel and Kayla Kjelshus stated in a press release issued by the office of U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, who's co-sponsoring a bill to address the issue. “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[s], this bill would make a big difference in every new parents’ life.”

The bill would “give parents 60 days after the birth of their child to choose which insurance policy will cover their new baby.” This would effectively eliminate an obscure insurance policy known as the “birthday rule,” something that decides which parent’s insurance will cover a new baby. 

Outside of the extra time for parents to make their insurance decision, the bill would allow the government to dictate how and when insurers notify parents of their rights. Davids, a Democrat who represents Olathe in the U.S. House, called it a “simple fix” that would allow parents to make more informed choices for their children’s future.