Protecting Patients with Private Insurance by Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services | Posted June 22, 2010
A major goal of the Affordable Care Act is to put American consumers back in charge of their coverage and care. Today, President Obama announced new regulations that will crack down on some of the most egregious practices of the insurance industry to help people with pre-existing conditions gain coverage and keep it when they need it, and protect Americans’ choice of doctors.
A major goal of the Affordable Care Act is to put American consumers back in charge of their coverage and care. Today, President Obama announced new regulations that will crack down on some of the most egregious practices of the insurance industry to help people with pre-existing conditions gain coverage and keep it when they need it, and protect Americans’ choice of doctors.
The new regulations include a set of protections that apply to health coverage starting on or after September 23, 2010, six months after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act.
No Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions for Children Under Age 19. Each year, thousands of children who were either born with or develop a costly medical condition are denied coverage by insurers. The new regulations will prohibit insurance plans from limiting benefits for children and from refusing to sell children coverage at all based on the fact that a child has a pre-existing condition. This policy applies to all types of insurance except for individual market plans that are “grandfathered.” This critical policy will be broadened to Americans of all ages in 2014.
No Unjustified Rescissions of Insurance Coverage. Right now, insurance companies are able to retroactively cancel someone’s policy when they become sick, or if they or their employers made an unintentional mistake on their paperwork. Under the regulations, insurers will be prohibited from rescinding coverage – for individuals or groups of people – except in cases involving fraud or an intentional misrepresentation of material facts. There are no exceptions to this policy.
(To read the complete article as well as other elements of the implementation of the Healthcare Reform Act, visit:
http://www.healthreform.gov/forums/blog/pa... Remember, we fought long and hard for this, it is time to understand how and when your family, friends, loved ones will begin to reap the harvest. amen? Amen!
Passing the peace,
Posted By: agnes levine
Thursday, June 24th 2010 at 1:33PM
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