Bill Commons

DE SB 71

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT POLICIES.

Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · upper

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Quick answers

Did DE SB 71 pass?

Yes. DE SB 71 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2025-09-03): Signed by Governor

What is DE SB 71 about?

This Act creates a special open enrollment period for persons who are already enrolled in a Medicare supplement policy or certificate to cancel their existing policy or certificate and purchase another Medicare supplement policy or certificate that provides the same or lesser benefits. Only persons who are already enrolled in a Medicare supplement policy or certificate are eligible for the special open enrollment period. The special enrollment period begins 30 days before an eligible person's birthday and remains open for at least 30 days following the eligible person's birthday. During this special open enrollment period, individuals switching from one Medicare supplement policy to another cannot be denied coverage and coverage and rates cannot be dependent upon the person’s medical history. The Act also obligates issuers to notify eligible persons who are enrolled in their Medicare supplement policies or certificates of the dates of the open enrollment period, at least 30 days before it begins, and of any modification to the benefits provided by the policy under which the person is currently insured. This Act also allows persons enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan to cancel their existing policy, enroll in Medicare during the annual Medicare open enrollment period and apply for a Medicare supplement policy. For individuals switching from Medicare Advantage to a Medicare supplement policy, the Act prohibits issuers of Medicare supplement policies from denying applications for such policies but does allow issuers to individually rate and apply a pre-existing condition limitation.

Who sponsors DE SB 71?

Cyndie Romer, Eric Morrison, Spiros Mantzavinos and 6 others are the primary sponsors of DE SB 71.

Description

This Act creates a special open enrollment period for persons who are already enrolled in a Medicare supplement policy or certificate to cancel their existing policy or certificate and purchase another Medicare supplement policy or certificate that provides the same or lesser benefits. Only persons who are already enrolled in a Medicare supplement policy or certificate are eligible for the special open enrollment period. The special enrollment period begins 30 days before an eligible person's birthday and remains open for at least 30 days following the eligible person's birthday. During this special open enrollment period, individuals switching from one Medicare supplement policy to another cannot be denied coverage and coverage and rates cannot be dependent upon the person’s medical history. The Act also obligates issuers to notify eligible persons who are enrolled in their Medicare supplement policies or certificates of the dates of the open enrollment period, at least 30 days before it begins, and of any modification to the benefits provided by the policy under which the person is currently insured. This Act also allows persons enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan to cancel their existing policy, enroll in Medicare during the annual Medicare open enrollment period and apply for a Medicare supplement policy. For individuals switching from Medicare Advantage to a Medicare supplement policy, the Act prohibits issuers of Medicare supplement policies from denying applications for such policies but does allow issuers to individually rate and apply a pre-existing condition limitation.

Introduced
2025-04-09
Latest action
2025-09-03 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Cyndie Romerprimary
  • Eric Morrisonprimary
  • Spiros Mantzavinosprimary
  • Bryant L. Richardsonprimary
  • John "Jack" Walshprimary
  • Franklin D. Cookeprimary
  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • Bryan Townsendprimary
  • Ray Seigfriedprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2025-09-03

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2025-06-12

    Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT

    passage

  3. 2025-06-10

    Reported Out of Committee (Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce) in House with 8 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  4. 2025-05-14

    Assigned to Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2025-05-13

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

    passage

  6. 2025-05-08

    Reported Out of Committee (Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  7. 2025-04-09

    Introduced and Assigned to Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Not provided by source.

Documents

Not provided by source.

Votes

  • SM

    2025-05-13 · pass · 21-0

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Darius J. Brown: yes
    • Eric Buckson: yes
    • Daniel Cruce: yes
    • Stephanie L. Hansen: yes
    • Gerald W. Hocker: yes
    • Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
    • Russell Huxtable: yes
    • Dave G. Lawson: yes
    • S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
    • Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
    • Trey Paradee: yes
    • Brian Pettyjohn: yes
    • Marie Pinkney: yes
    • Nicole Poore: yes
    • Bryant L. Richardson: yes
    • Ray Seigfried: yes
    • David P. Sokola: yes
    • Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
    • Bryan Townsend: yes
    • John "Jack" Walsh: yes
    • David L. Wilson: yes
  • SM

    2025-06-12 · pass · 40-0

    Member-level votes (41)
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
    • Frank Burns: yes
    • William Bush: yes
    • William J. Carson: yes
    • Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: yes
    • Richard G. Collins: yes
    • Franklin D. Cooke: yes
    • Daniel B. Short: yes
    • Timothy D. Dukes: yes
    • Mara Gorman: yes
    • Ronald E. Gray: yes
    • Krista Griffith: yes
    • Kerri Evelyn Harris: yes
    • Debra Heffernan: yes
    • Kevin S Hensley: yes
    • Jeff Hilovsky: yes
    • Valerie Jones Giltner: yes
    • Kendra Johnson: yes
    • Kimberly Williams: yes
    • Kamela T Smith: yes
    • Larry Lambert: yes
    • Sean M. Lynn: yes
    • Michael F. Smith: yes
    • Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
    • Shannon Morris: yes
    • Eric Morrison: yes
    • DeShanna U Neal: yes
    • Josue O Ortega: yes
    • Edward S. Osienski: yes
    • Stell Parker Selby: other
    • Sophie Phillips: yes
    • Charles S Postles Jr.: yes
    • Cyndie Romer: yes
    • Melanie Ross Levin: yes
    • Sherae'a Moore: yes
    • Bryan W. Shupe: yes
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T03:53:51.443619Z

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