Rep. Davids introduces bill to give parents choice over child’s health care

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., on Thursday introduced a bill aimed at helping expecting parents make the choice over which parent's insurance will cover their newborn's health care.

The bill will cut red tape, avoid surprise bills and let parents, not an insurance company, make the decision on insurance, according to Rep. Davids.

The bill addresses something called the "birthday rule," which is used by insurance companies to determine which policy will cover the newborn. Currently, insurance companies choose the insurance policy of the parent whose birthday is first to cover the infant, even if parents want the other policy to cover the baby.

Parents often don't know about this policy, which can result in surprise medical bills for families.

For example, one family in Olathe, Kansas, faced a $270,951 bill after the birth of their daughter, even though they had planned to be covered by the mother's insurance policy.

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," Rep. Davids said. "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 [] family and countless others, I am proud to introduce the Empowering Parents' Healthcare Choices Act."

Rep. Davids' legislation to help prevent surprise medical billing became law last Congress, and she recently joined her colleagues to urge House leadership to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, lowering costs for patients significantly. Rep. Davids also held a roundtable discussion earlier this year with Gov. Laura Kelly focused on expanding Medicaid to 165,000 Kansans.