(Commonwealth Media Service photo).
A law that aims to protect those who take steps to prevent opioid overdoses from discrimination by insurance companies unanimously passed the Pennsylvania House Insurance Committee on Tuesday.
House Bill 111, sponsored by state Rep. Gina Curry (D-Delaware), would prohibit life insurers from denying, canceling, charging a different rate, or limiting coverage to an applicant solely for obtaining a prescription for an opioid overdose reversal agent, such an Naloxone.
Curry called the legislation Lloyd’s Law in honor of her constituent, Sharon White, whose son, Lloyd, lost his life to opioid use. White had Naloxone in her prescription profile in an effort to help her son and was denied life insurance as a result.
“The bill aims to protect families like Sharon’s, ensuring that they can access life-saving medications without facing discrimination,” Curry said Tuesday. “By doing so, it helps to support those in the recovery community, aiming to end the stigma surrounding substance use disorders and to encourage more people to seek help when needed.”
“House Bill 111 represents a vital step in combating the opioid epidemic and ensuring individuals can access necessary life saving medications without facing unjust discrimination from insurers,” she added.
The legislation passed the state House last session in June 2024 by a 201-0 vote, but was not considered in the state Senate.
The committee also unanimously approved a pair of measures, House Bills 211 and 261, which updates outdated language in two of Pennsylvania’s insurance laws that currently refer to “physical handicaps” and “mental retardation” with “physical disability” and “intellectual disability.”