As a result of the fantastic work of California advocates and their allies in state government, several major insurance companies (Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, Health Net, and United Health) have now agreed to begin selling child-only policies again.  Earlier this year, these companies abandoned the child-only market, claiming that they could not afford to cover children with pre-existing conditions as required by the Affordable Care Act. Now, however, they are back in the child-only market in California and it is due to the work of advocates and state leaders who secured a nifty little provision in a bill passed earlier this year.  The provision bans insurers from offering coverage in the individual insurance market if they discriminate against kids.  Faced with the loss of the lucrative market for selling policies to adults, the insurers came around and decided that they could actually still afford to sell child-only policies.  The success in California is an important lesson for other states that something can be done to combat the decision of insurers to abandon child-only coverage.

Happy Holidays!