State officials are making another misguided attempt to appropriate parental authority.
The most recent challenge is House Bill 400, which would allow insured dependents to receive “sensitive health care services” without the knowledge of the policyholder.
As the authors reference in the bill’s synopsis, when a child is covered under a parent’s health insurance policy and is treated, the parent often learns of it through an “explanation of benefits” notice sent by the insurer.
HB 400 supporters claim the current status quo has a chilling effect on young adults seeking sensitive health care services. Rather than risk the disclosure of awkward information to their parents, they avoid treatment. It is a legitimate point.
Under the federal Affordable Care Act, children can remain on their parent’s health care plan until they are 26 years old. Since individuals who reach the age of 18 are legally autonomous, we agree that adult children should be able to preserve the confidentiality of their health care decisions.
However, HB 400 explicitly includes minors.
The bill’s prime sponsor, state Rep. Krista Griffith, D-Fairfax, says her legislation “doesn’t change any current law on the age of parental consent for reproductive care, or any other health care services.” In discussing House Bill 400 on a recent Facebook post, she noted her measure only changes the health insurance billing process. “This bill is … for the 24-year-old adult who is covered by a family health plan but doesn’t want their parents to know that they took an STD test or sought help for substance abuse. Sometimes, very similar circumstances apply to people under age 18, like a victim of abuse who doesn’t want their abuser to know they’re seeing a therapist.”
This explanation is, at best, disingenuous.
While it’s true the bill would not change parental consent laws, what most Delawareans don’t realize is that children between the ages of 12 and 18 already have significant autonomy for making certain health care decisions without parental knowledge or consent. Under Delaware law (Title 13, Chapter 7, Section 710), 12- to 18-year-old minors who claim to be pregnant, believe they could be pregnant or might have a sexually transmitted disease can give consent for treatment without parental involvement. Abortions involving minor patients still require parental approval.
Most Delawareans are also unaware that parents signing school-based wellness center consent forms may be waiving their right to be informed of the services their children receive there.
The picture comes into sharper focus when HB 400 is considered with a law enacted earlier this spring, House Bill 320. The new statute allows physician assistants and advanced-practice registered nurses to prescribe medication for terminating early-stage pregnancies.
HB 320 and 400 appear to be two steps in a three-step process to allow minors, 12 to 18, to receive abortion drugs at school-based wellness centers — or any doctor’s office, clinic or health care facility — without parental knowledge. With the enactment of HB 400, insurance companies would be barred from informing parents about the meds paid for by their policies.
The final step would be to amend Title 13 to expand the scope of medical services for which minors, 12 to 18, could self-approve to include abortion services, gender-transition services and other procedures. These items are specifically included in HB 400’s list of “sensitive health care services.”
The collusion is not subtle. Seven of the eight legislators that were prime sponsors of House Bill 320 are also sponsoring House Bill 400.
At the heart of this maneuvering is an arrogant presumption that keeping parents out of health care decisions involving their minor children will lead to better outcomes.
It was less than five years ago the Carney administration attempted to promulgate a proposed regulation that would have, among other things, allowed schoolchildren of any age to self-select their gender and racial identities while at school, without parental notification or permission. It was eventually, reluctantly, dropped after a mass demonstration of public opposition.
Lawmakers should not be undermining parental authority but rather helping them achieve their essential mission of raising responsible children.
We propose amending House Bill 400, limiting its scope to cover the confidentiality of adults on shared health insurance policies. Should this prudent change be defeated, Delawareans will know what this measure’s true goal is.
Rep. Tim Dukes, R-Laurel, is the House of Representatives’ minority whip. He writes on behalf of the House Republican Caucus.
