The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on Wednesday by voice vote approved to extend a bill (HR 2851, S 400) that would allow college students who are forced to leave school for a serious illness to continue to receive health care benefits under their parents' health insurance policies, CongressDaily reports. The law would allow students who have certification from a physician of a serious ailment to qualify for coverage during a medical leave of up to one year. The panel also adopted an amendment, proposed by Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), for the law to take effect one year after it is enacted.

Pallone said, "Students are forced into the difficult decision of continuing with a full-time course load while they try to seek treatment or withdrawing and losing health care eligibility," adding, "No American should be faced with such a choice" (Posner, CongressDaily, 7/9).

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