Health Insurance Articles

How New Insurance Legislation Affects Preexisting Condition Denials

2011-03-27

Much has been written about the new health insurance legislation that was passed last year. Disregarding some blatant untruths about things like "death panels" and delegated care, there remains a lot of uncertainty among the public as to just what the legislation entails. One aspect that is of great concern to many people is how the legislation will affect patients with preexisting conditions. Many people are particularly concerned about how the legislation will affect an insurance company's ability to deny patients who fall into this category.

When it gets right down to it this was one of the insurance reform bills biggest triumphs. While the Obama administration was successful in passing a fairly sweeping health insurance reform bill, many critics feel that it does not go far enough, while others seem to be against it because they feel it somehow threatens their liberty. Yet the bill's provision that makes it unlawful for an insurer to deny coverage because of a preexisting condition is surely a positive gain for just about everyone without a direct interest in the insurance industry.

However like many aspects of the new healthcare insurance legislation, this provision is not set to take affect for a few years. This particular provision is slated to be rolled out gradually and has already been put in place for children. As of the Fall of 2010, it is unlawful for insurers to deny coverage to children who suffer from preexisting conditions. This same provision is scheduled to take effect for adults in 2014 along with much of the rest of the bill.

The main reason for this provision and others not taking full effect for a few years is to leave time for the millions of uninsured to be able to find and afford insurance policies. It will also allow the government time to set up state-run exchanges and other agencies to aid in our country's healthcare reform.

In the meantime, the government has provided a short-term solution for those with preexisting conditions in the form of a high-risk insurance pool for those patients already carrying problems who have been uninsured for six months or more. Patients who are enrolled in the pool will be eligible to receive government sponsored subsidies that can be used to help them afford insurance premiums at their current market rate.

While it may only be a start, these provisions are good news for the millions of patients lumped into this category. Patients with preexisting problems have long been faced with prohibitively high healthcare costs often forcing the very people who need healthcare the most to cut corners in the care they receive.