Insurance plans often allow college students to maintain their health coverage as a part of their parents’ coverage as long as they maintain full-time student status. This policy, however, creates a problem for students who are forced to take medical leave.

On Sept. 25 the U.S. Senate passed Michelle’s Law by unanimous consent, a bill which seeks to make it easier for college students to keep health coverage under their parents’ plans even while on leave. The U.S. House of Representatives had already approved the bill in July.

According to U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), college students facing medical emergencies previously had fewer options than they do now.

“The truth of the matter is that most college age students are only eligible to keep their parents’ health insurance if they attend classes full- time. Under most health care plans, when a student becomes seriously ill or is injured, he or she is unfortunately left with very few options,” Pallone said during a meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health last July.

Pallone also said in his statement that students in such circumstances only have the options to maintain full-time status and complete the required course load, or withdraw from school and risk losing eligibility for health care.

“I think [the law] is a good thing. Just because you’re not full-time doesn’t mean you don’t need health care,” sophomore Nick May said. “People on medical leave especially need it. If you have a situation like cancer, you might not be able to go to school, but then you can’t get coverage, so it just causes problems to get even worse.”

Sophomore John Hergenroeder also believes that Michelle’s Law will benefit students.

“I think it is reasonable, because as a college student it’s not likely you’ll have your own health insurance,” Hergenroeder said. “And if something has happened that is so dire that you need to take medical leave, you won’t have time to worry about things like medical insurance. Having people stay on their parents’ insurance is the best option for them.”

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is one of many organizations that lobbied in support of Michelle’s Law.

“If you are a college student diagnosed with cancer, you should have many priorities. Staying on top of your grades, getting to your cancer treatments, fighting nausea and getting better should be your priority, not worrying if you are going to lose your health insurance coverage,” read a statement from ACS CAN.

ACS CAN estimates that 2,400 college students are diagnosed with some form of cancer each year.

Michelle’s Law received its name from Michelle Morse, who was a student at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. Morse was attending Plymouth State University when she was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003. She remained as a full-time student at the university until graduation so that she could benefit from her parent’s health plan. She died two years later.

New Hampshire had already enacted a similar version of the law with the same name in 2006, which allows students to take up to 12 months for medical leave while still being considered dependents and remaining eligible for their parent’s health plans.

Senators John Sununu and Judd Gregg—both of New Hampshire—proposed the bill, which would create a federal law similar in effect to the law enacted in New Hampshire in Jan. 2007.

The Senate did not change the bill; the bill’s final passage depends on whether President Bush signs it into law.