Obama adminstration moves to fix kids coverage gap

[cal04]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HEALTH_OVERHAUL_CHILDRENS_COVERAGE?SITE=SCGRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

President Barack Obama's top health care official put health insurers on notice Monday that the new health overhaul law requires them to cover kids with medical problems, trying to dispel uncertainty over a much-publicized benefit.

It remained unclear if the sternly worded letter from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would settle a dispute over a widely touted achievement of the health care law that Obama signed last week.

(snip)
In a letter to the main industry trade group, Sebelius attempted to remove any doubt.

"Health insurance reform is designed to prevent any child from being denied coverage because he or she has a pre-existing condition," she wrote America's Health Insurance Plans. "Now is not the time to search for nonexistent loopholes that preserve a broken system."

Sebelius specified that children with a pre-existing medical problem may not be denied access to their parents' coverage under the new law. Furthermore, insurers will not be able to insure a child but exclude treatments for a particular medical problem.

"The term 'pre-existing condition exclusion' applies to both a child's access to a plan and his or her benefits once he or she is in the plan," Sebelius wrote, adding that her department will shortly issue a regulation to that effect. The new protections will be available starting in September, she said.



Sebelius to Ignagni: Cover the Kids
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/3/29/852204/-Sebelius-to-Ignagni:-Cover-the-Kids
http://images.dailykos.com/images/user/6685/img_329151024_0001.pdf
In the ongoing debate over whether insurers should abide by the new law and cover sick kids this year, HHS Secretary Sebelius writes to AHIP president Karen Ignagni , reiterating the intent of the law.

[MindandSoul]

1. Great! Too bad there was a hole, but I'm glad they're fixing it!

[DCKit]

5. Even better, the speed with which they stood up to the ins. companies.

It's shameful though, how fast the parasites started looking for the soft spots. No finesse at all.

[flyarm]

7. They didn't have to look far..the loop holes are huge! But that is what you get when Wellpoint folks

write the Bill..yes you read that correctly..over 70% of this bill was written by the Former V.P. of Wellpoint!!

But they had no problem getting this into the fucking bill..did they???????????

Title V of the Bill expands the Ready Reserve Corps, originally formed by Clinton, and under the direction of the Surgeon General. The commissioned officers are appointed by the President, and the manning limits were removed. While the stated purpose was medical requirements AND national emergency, the actual use is open-ended because anything can be defined as such.
May I suggest you look it up???????

http://hearthebill.net/HR3590_Sub.pdf


Silly me..since my hubby served in the National Guard during the Vietnam war..I thought we already had the Reserves and a National Guard..so now we need another Ready Reserve???

WTF for??????????

AAAAAAAAnd this needed to be in this Bill why? Why??? WHYYYYYYYYYYY??????????

But they couldn't keep the loopholes out to protect children with pre-existing conditions???????? or make sure it was funded ..could they??????????


Just more of the DLC cluster F..Not a Corporate whore or Military Industrial Complex of whores they don't love!

[LakeSamish706]

2. Now thats what I was waiting to see. How long before they would fix it. Kudos to them. n/t

[flyarm]

9. but no money is alloted to help these kids till 2014..whippeee..so if ..a big if ..they can afford

to buy insurance ..with no caps on the cost..they may get an insurance policy..that doesn't cover shit..but wallpapering the bathroom with that piece of paper the policy is written on!

WAKE UP!

[LakeSamish706]

11. I'm certainly not suggesting for one minute that I like the HCR, cause I don't.

My point was simply how quickly would the Obama Administration move to fix the gaping hole that was left open.

[Tansy_Gold]

3. Is there a limit to what premium the insurance companies can charge

to cover these children?



TG

[kestrel91316]

10. Nope. But you can expect them to get egg all over their faces when they

get greedy over THAT, too.

Obama has set it up for the insurance companies to be the cause of their own demise. They are gonna just keep stepping in the shit, every time they try to get greedy. People across the political spectrum will be demanding ins co heads on platters AND Single Payer by 2014. Maybe before.

[lamp_shade]

4. Good. This should quiet some folks down here.

[ProSense]

6. It's actually

upsetting some. They're mad that the administration is calling out the insurance companies. LOL!

[kestrel91316]

8. I hope they find a few MORE "loopholes" for the insurance companies

to wind up looking like total douchebags over........

Every time this happens, a few more RWers open up to the potential benefits of Single Payer.