Empowering Parents’ Healthcare Choices Act

Empowering Parents’ Healthcare Choices Act would let certain two-parent families choose which parent’s health insurance is considered primary for a dependent child. When both parents have separate coverage and both plans would cover the child, either parent can elect that the child be primarily covered by that parent’s plan within 60 days of birth. The chosen plan would pay first (primary) and continue until either both parents elect to discontinue primary coverage or the enrolling parent loses coverage. The election is coordinated across the Public Health Service Act, ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code, and applies to children born on or after January 1, 2026. If both parents have multiple policies or plans, the provision does not apply. The bill creates new sections across the three statutes to implement this choice.