Rep. Pashinski bill to continue ACA coverage until age 26 passes House

WILKES-BARRE — Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski on Thursday said before the federal Affordable Care Act became law, many children turned 18 and got the surprise of being dropped from their parent’s health insurance plan.

The Pennsylvania House passed legislation sponsored by Rep. Pashinski that would allow parents in Pennsylvania to keep their children on their health insurance policy until the child turns 26 if the federal Affordable Care Act is ever repealed.

“Losing health insurance coverage led to many young, healthy people leaving the health insurance market entirely,” said Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre. “Because there were not enough young, healthy people in the market to balance out sicker policyholders, insurance premiums became unaffordable for many young people. Without insurance, these young people risked incurring medical debt due to unforeseeable accidental injuries.

Pashinski said the ACA helped remedy this situation by allowing parents to keep their children on their health insurance policy until the child turns 26.

“Unfortunately, parts of the Affordable Care Act are still under threat by some Republicans in Washington, D.C.,” Pashinski said.

While current Pennsylvania law allows employers to cover an employee’s adult children until age 30, Pashinski said few employers take advantage of this option.

“So, if the Affordable Care Act is ever struck down at the federal level, many adult children in Pennsylvania will lose their health insurance coverage, and we may see another market spiral,” Pashinski said. “I believe that is unacceptable and can be prevented by incorporating this key Affordable Care Act protection into state law, which is what my bill would do.”

House Bill 2563 now moves to the state Senate for consideration.