12 2 STA T .4083PUBLIC LA W 110 – 381 —O CT. 9, 2008 (2)CONF O RMI N GA M E N D MEN T.—Thetabl e ofc o n tent si n section 1 ofs u ch A ctisa m en d edb y inse r tin g after the item relating to section 7 1 3 the follo w ing new item
- ‘
‘ Sec.714 . Cov e rag eo fd e p e n den ts t u dents on m ed i ca l l y necessary leave of a b- sence. ’ ’. (b) AMENDMENT S TOT H E PUBL I CH EALTH S ER V ICE ACT.— (1) G ROU P MAR K ETS.—Sub p art2ofpartAoftitle X X VI I of the Public Health Ser v ice Act ( 4 2 U .S.C. 3 0 0gg – 4etse q .) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: ‘ ‘ SEC.270 7.C OV E RAG EO FD E P E N DEN T ST U DENTS ON M ED I CA L L Y NECESSARY LEAVE OF A B SENCE. ‘ ‘(a) M EDICALL YN ECESSARY L EAVE OF ABSENCE.—In this sec - tion , the term ‘medically necessary leave of absence ’ means, with respect to a dependent child described in subsection (b)(2) in connec- tion with a group health plan or health insurance coverage offered in connection with such plan, a leave of absence of such child from a postsecondary educational institution (including an institu- tion of higher education as defined in section 102 of the Higher E ducation Act of 1 965 ), or any other change in enrollment of such child at such an institution, that— ‘‘(1) commences while such child is suffering from a serious illness or in j ury
‘‘(2) is medically necessary; and ‘‘(3) causes such child to lose student status for purposes of coverage under the terms of the plan or coverage. ‘‘(b) R E Q UIREMENT TO CONTINUE COVERAGE.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a dependent child described in paragraph (2), a group health plan, or a health insurance issuer that provides health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan, shall not terminate cov- erage of such child under such plan or health insurance cov- erage due to a medically necessary leave of absence before the date that is the earlier of— ‘‘(A) the date that is 1 year after the first day of the medically necessary leave of absence; or ‘‘( B ) the date on which such coverage would otherwise terminate under the terms of the plan or health insurance coverage. ‘‘(2) D EPENDENT CHILD DESCRIBED.—A dependent child described in this paragraph is, with respect to a group health plan or health insurance coverage offered in connection with the plan, a beneficiary under the plan who— ‘‘(A) is a dependent child, under the terms of the plan or coverage, of a participant or beneficiary under the plan or coverage; and ‘‘(B) was enrolled in the plan or coverage, on the basis of being a student at a postsecondary educational institu- tion (as described in subsection (a)), immediately before the first day of the medically necessary leave of absence involved. ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION BY PHYSICIAN.—Paragraph (1) shall apply to a group health plan or health insurance coverage offered by an issuer in connection with such plan only if the plan or issuer of the coverage has received written certification by a treating physician of the dependent child which states that the child is suffering from a serious illness or injury Ap p licab ili ty.42USC30 0 g g –7 .
�
