If this passes.. could help those who have diabetes and are trying to get coverage which can be an issue......
- From: "Gumbo" <gumbo_toao1@remove_ hotmail.com>
- Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:09:04 -0400
If this passes.. could help those who have diabetes and are trying to get
coverage which can be an issue......
----------------------------------
Bill Drops Pre-existing Conditions: Seeks To Increase Insurance Coverage
Copyright:
The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
Source:
The Dominion Post in Morgantown (WV)
Wordcount:
814
Mar. 18--Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn.,
introduced a bill Tuesday that would eliminate pre-existing condition
exclusions from health insurance policies.
Called the Pre-existing Condition Patient Protection Act, the bill will stop
insurance companies from denying health insurance coverage for chronic
health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
Currently, health insurance companies can specify uncovered conditions for
new policy holders.
In a conference call with The Dominion Post, both lawmakers said the bill
was part of President Barack Obama''s agenda for health care reform.
"Our system is broke," Rockefeller said. For "people who have preexisting
conditions ... [insurance companies] will wipe you off their list. ... The
president is furious."
Courtney said in addition to securing coverage for chronic conditions, the
bill is a crucial part of economic recovery, as recent job losses mean many
Americans may be on their own to pay for health insurance.
"This legislation is really about moving the recovery along," he said.
The current bill stems from both lawmakers'' previous work. In 2007, the duo
introduced the Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion Patient Protection Act,
which sought to restrict insurance providers and employers from excluding
individuals from coverage due to protection gaps in the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, according to
Rockefeller's Web site.
Rockefeller said the new bill would push the effort to the heart of health
care reform.
"HIPAA was thought to be a terrific step forward ... but there were a lot of
loopholes," he said. "What this bill would do is say everybody gets it.
There would be no exclusions everywhere in the country."
Both lawmakers said the change should not hurt the insurance industry, but
increase the pot of customers, thereby bringing down the cost of premiums.
"I''m confident this measure is something the market can deal with,"
Courtney said. "This will expand the market, increasing customers."
But according to David Mathieu, vice president of marketing for The Health
Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley -- a West Virginia based health insurance
company -- the bill would have some adverse effects on his industry.
"My opinion: No. 1 -- that will make everyone who has an individual policy
rate, the rate will go up 20 to 25 percent," he said.
Mathieu said health insurance companies operate with both group and
individual insurance policies, and while HIPAA laws offer some protection
for individuals switching enrolled group policies from employers, for
example, the same protections do not exist for individual policies.
Mathieu gave a primary reason for the lack of protection on individual
policies -- what he calls the "bump and run" move -- as health insurance
customers often sign up for policies with the intention of obtaining medical
care within the first few months of coverage, then not paying premiums after
medical procedures are paid for.
Mathieu also predicted a second scenario that might evolve from the "bump
and run" move, in which insurance companies stop offering personal policies
and focus solely on group policies.
"It is well-intentioned legislation," he said. "[But] if an insurance
company can''t break even, they''re not going to do it. It's not good
business."
Both lawmakers, however, said the insurance industry is set up to pool risk,
not to avoid it, and should take on more policies and claims.
"If we're going to have universal health coverage, we''ve got to get these
insurance companies under control," Rockefeller said. "They are in business
in order to pay for people who are sick."
Dr. Richard Layne, professor of medicine at WVU''s School of Medicine, who
also practices general internal and geriatric medicine, said his patients
tell him that their options for health care payment are not good, and
Rockefeller''s effort looks like an attempt to make the market more fair and
accessible.
"We do have challenges with access to health care coverage and costs of
health care, and this would seem to be one way to address that," he said.
Layne described a spectrum of problems, such as his patients who can't get
coverage for specific conditions, patients who could qualify for insurance
but could not afford it and patients who have been denied any coverage at
all.
As for pre-existing conditions, he said the term is pretty broad because
individual insurance companies define them. Those conditions could include
anything from hypertension to pregnancy.
He also sees potential for complications, as insurance companies can choose
in which states they write policies and may choose to do business in
healthier areas of the country.
"Most people would agree that [health care] is a social good," he said. "But
trying to blend social good and a market-based approach is complicated."
Jason Butcher, public information officer with the West Virginia offices of
the Insurance Commissioner, said he would need more information about the
bill before he could comment on it. He did not reply in time for this
report.
This is a news service of Thomson Business Intelligence Service ©2006. This
content is for your personal use only, subject to Terms and Conditions. No
redistribution allowed.
.
- Prev by Date: Re: ever heard of "Salba?
- Next by Date: Cataract surgery and high BG readings
- Previous by thread: a clogged colon impacts the pancreas
- Next by thread: Re: If this passes.. could help those who have diabetes and are trying to get coverage which can be an issue......
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
