[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7906-7907]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 FEHBP DEPENDENT COVERAGE EXTENSION ACT

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the Federal 
Employees Health Benefits Program Dependent Coverage Extension Act. 
This bill will allow Federal employees to benefit immediately from an 
important provision of the new health care law.
  FEHBP is the largest employer-sponsored group health insurance 
program in the world, covering more than 8 million Federal employees, 
retirees, former employees, and their dependents. Currently, FEHBP 
enrollees with family coverage can keep unmarried, dependent children 
on their health insurance policies until age 22.
  Earlier this year, Congress passed the Patient Protection and 
Affordable Care Act, which moves us to universal health coverage and 
lowers health care costs for our Nation and for families. One of the 
first effective provisions of the legislation requires health plans to 
allow parents to keep children on their health insurance policies until 
their 26th birthday. Previously, most plans terminated dependent 
children's coverage once they tunred 22. While the insurance exchanges 
created by the new law will enable millions more Americans to access 
affordable coverage, they will not be operational until 2014. Enabling 
children of insured parents to stay on their policies until age 26 is 
an immediate benefit that will begin now to improve our health care 
system by increasing the number of people with affordable coverage 
right away.
  This provision of the law will take effect on the first day of the 
new plan year after September 23, 2010. For most plans, that means 
January 1, 2011. But

[[Page 7907]]

I am pleased to report that many insurance companies have chosen to 
implement this provision earlier than required by law.
  But unless Congress acts, Federal employees with family coverage will 
have to wait until next year for this benefit to kick in. This is 
because FEHBP law prevents the Office of Personnel Management Director 
John Berry from moving up the effective date. Two sections of the law 
hinder OPM from taking action now. According to OPM, ``The first 
section allows OPM to contract with plans to provide health services to 
employees and their families. The second defines family members to 
include `an unmarried dependent child under age 22.' Unfortunately, 
this does now allow flexibility for FEHB plans to provide coverage to 
other adult children until the provision in the Affordable Care Act 
becomes effective.'' Director Berry has stated that he would like to 
begin expanding coverage for enrollees' adult children now, and that he 
does not want to wait until next January to offer this cost-saving 
benefit.
  The bill we are introducing today would conform FEHBP law with PPACA 
and ensure that all children of Federal employees can remain on their 
parents' health insurance policies until their 26th birthday and give 
OPM the authority to implement the change immediately.
  Graduation season is upon us, and many college seniors are preparing 
for new challenges, including moving out on their own, starting 
graduate studies, finding a job, and other life transitions. They 
should not have to endure the additional stress that comes from 
suddenly losing their health insurance coverage. Young adults just 
starting their careers often lack access to affordable employer-based 
health insurance and must rely on the prohibitively expensive 
individual market for coverage. That is why so many private insurers 
have stepped up to the plate. Permitting Federal employees to benefit 
from the new law now will ease young adults' transition from college to 
the workforce and reduce their out-of-pocket expenses.
  The independent Congressional Budget Office has issued a preliminary 
analysis indicating that this legislation has no cost associated with 
it. So it will save families money, get more young adults insured, and 
bring greater efficiencies to our health care sooner, all at no cost to 
the Federal budget.
  I thank my colleagues for joining me in this bipartisan effort: 
Senators Collins, Akaka, Rockefeller, Mikulski, Bingaman, Johnson, 
Kaufman, Kerry, Landrieu, Stabenow, and Warner. This is the companion 
bill to H.R. 5200, introduced by my colleague from Maryland, Chris Van 
Hollen, and it has been endorsed by the National Active and Retired 
Federal Employees Association, NARFE, the National Federation of 
Federal Employees, NFFE, the American Federation of Government 
Employees, AFGE, and the National Treasury Employees Union, NTEU. I 
urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and to pass it 
without delay, so that children of Federal employees can have the same 
coverage option as children of other employees in the private sector.

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