Several states enacted laws expanding coverage for children. Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Tennessee require extending dependent coverage to ages ranging from 23 to 30 sometimes without regard to student status.

Five states include grandchildren in their dependent definition, making it mandatory for insurance policies to cover these children (Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Wisconsin).

New Hampshire has passed a bill to extend health insurance coverage to divorced spouses. The bill would require health insurers to allow the spouse of divorced members to remain covered under the policies of their former spouses for up to 3 years or until one of them remarries.

Seven states enacted laws allowing insurers to offer subscribers premium rebates or other incentives through their wellness programs, those seven states are Arizona, Indiana, Maryland, Iowa, Oregon, Texas and Utah.

Many states in their hope to curtail rising health costs, including Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine and Washington are reviewing proposals requiring insurers to cover screening tests for breast, cervical, colorectal and prostrate cancers. Lawmakers in states like Missouri will also consider mandating coverage for obesity treatments, while states like Indiana and New York will debate bills mandating coverage for smoking-cessation programs.

Arizona also revised a 2006 law known as Mandate-Lite, which allows insurers to offer small businesses health plans without some previously State mandated benefits, making them less expensive. Since 2001, Arkansas and North Dakota have also permitted insurance companies to sell policies without all of the benefits they mandate. In many cases, these mandate exemptions are allowed only for certain types of policies, such as small employer plans.

A number of states are also debating new or expanded employee leave laws. Pending proposals would provide paid sick days or paid leave to care for sick family members. Other bills would require offering paid leave to employees for certain events related to a family member’s active military duty.

Paid sick leave. In the wake of San Francisco’s successful ballot initiative last year, similar measures in Connecticut, Massachusetts and other states would require employers to provide paid sick leave, mandate year-to-year accrual of sick leave up to a certain cap and allow employees to use that time for their own illness or to care for an ailing family member.

Paid family leave. A few states, including Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington, will consider providing limited income support to residents taking leave from work because of their own serious illness or the need to care for a seriously ill family member.

Military family leave. Hawaii, Indiana, Maine and New York are considering bills that would allow employees to take an unpaid leave when a family member in the military is deployed, returns from duty, or suffers injury or dies while performing military service.