House expands options for individual health coverage, allows exclusion riders and dependent coverage to age 26

The Utah House on Feb. 13 approved First Substitute House Bill 156, a health‑insurance accessibility bill that clarifies emergency-care claim handling, expands Mini‑COBRA provisions, extends dependent coverage up to age 26 for unmarried eligible dependents (longer if disabled), and creates a narrowly defined exclusion‑rider option for some individual policies.

Representative James Dunnigan, the sponsor, said the measure "clarifies that health insurance policy or a HMO policy may not deny a claim for emergency care for a covered evaluation, diagnostic test, or other covered treatment" and that "an eligible dependent…may be covered on his parents' health plan until age 26 or longer if disabled." He also explained how the exclusion rider would work as a consumer option: it allows insurers to exclude a specific preexisting condition from an individual policy by written rider so a person otherwise likely to be declined might accept coverage for other needs instead of entering the high‑risk pool.

Lawmakers questioned whether HIP (the state's high‑risk pool) eligibility would be affected and how broad exclusions might be applied. The sponsor said eligibility for HIP is not removed by the bill and that exclusion riders are meant to expand options for people who otherwise cannot secure individual coverage. Representative Lockhart, speaking from the floor in favor, described a hypothetical child with a minor condition who might gain access to an affordable individual plan under the rider approach.

After floor debate and technical clarifications, the House passed the bill 70–0 and referred it to the Senate.

Actions and next steps: the House adopted the substitute, approved the bill by recorded vote and transmitted it to the Senate for further consideration.