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These provisions seek to end insurance company abuses, and put consumers and their doctors back in control of their health care.
“When I voted for this health care legislation, it was to make sure that all Americans had access to quality affordable health care,” said Congressman Thompson.
As of Thursday, young Californians will be able to stay on their parents’ insurance until their 26th birthday, which Thompson said is very important, because young people are the biggest group of uninsured Americans.
Also, people will no longer be subject to lifetime caps on what health insurance will pay, or risk losing their coverage when they get sick, he said. “This will also make a big difference, because over 60 percent of people who declared bankruptcy in 2007 did so because of medical costs.”
As of Thursday all privately-insured Americans will have the following protections:
Health coverage cannot be arbitrarily canceled if you become sick.
Children cannot be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition.
Children up to age 26 can stay on their parents’ health plan.
Health insurance giants cannot put a lifetime limit on health coverage.
Beginning Thursday, consumers purchasing new plans will have the following additional protections:
Preventive services will be available without deductible or co-payments.
Patients have the right to both an internal and external appeal of insurers’ coverage decisions.
Patients have the right to access out-of-network emergency room care at in-network cost-sharing rates.
Thompson also sent a letter to the California Insurance Commissioner Thursday, asking him to look into ways to recoup money for insurance clients who may have been overcharged.
In North Carolina, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin was able to return nearly $156 million to more than 215,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield policyholders. That’s equivalent to more than 1.5 months of premiums.
