Senate changes healthcare bill to include penalty for not having continuous coverage

By Robert King

Published June 26, 2017 5:27pm ET

Senate changes healthcare bill to include penalty for not having continuous coverage — The REINS Act would allow Congress to reassert control over agency rulemaking by preventing major regulations from being implemented without congressional approval. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) | Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Senate Republican leadership updated its healthcare reform bill to include a penalty for not having continuous coverage.

Starting in 2019, a person who doesn’t have insurance for 63 days or more in the past year has to wait six months for coverage to begin. The provision would only affect people who buy insurance on the individual market, which is for people who don’t have insurance through their employer.