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| REPUBLICANS WOULD MAKE IT HARDER TO APPEAL UNFAIR DENIALS BY INSURERS |
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| Thursday, 14 October 2010 01:33 |
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NEWS – CONGRESSMAN PETE STARK Pledge Against America's Health:
REPUBLICANS WOULD MAKE IT HARDER TO APPEAL UNFAIR DENIALS BY INSURERS WASHINGTON - The House Republican pledge unveiled three weeks ago would turn back the clock on health care progress. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, today criticized the Republican plan to eliminate a nationwide guarantee for external appeal of insurers' decisions – a provision that helps 88 million Americans by 2013. "Thanks to the health reform law, consumers now have the right to appeal decisions made by their health plan to an outside, independent third party," said Chairman Stark. "The Republican pledge would repeal these protections, taking away consumers' abilities to challenge insurers when they deny coverage and care." Prior to health reform, many consumers had no right to an independent review of insurers' decisions, leaving them without a meaningful way to appeal insurers' denials. If an insurance company refused to cover the treatment recommended by a doctor, consumers had no right to a timely and impartial review of that decision. The health reform law requires new health plans to develop both internal and external appeals processes to better protect consumers against insurance company abuses. In addition, the new law requires that consumers are notified about their appeal options, including the right to an expedited review in the case of a medical emergency. According to the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury, an estimated 88 million Americans in employer and individual plans will benefit from this reform by 2013. Republicans would repeal this provision, stripping away these protections from millions of Americans and returning control to the insurance companies. For additional information on how the Republican pledge is detrimental to America's health: Balloon the deficit: http://go.usa.gov/aZo Make more Americans face medical bankruptcy: http://go.usa.gov/aju Repeal free preventive care: http://go.usa.gov/a4j Reduce Medicare's solvency by 12 years: http://go.usa.gov/a10 Permit discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions: http://go.usa.gov/ach End reinsurance program for early retirees: http://go.usa.gov/ac2 Shut down healthcare.gov: http://go.usa.gov/al8 Gut programs to fight Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse: http://go.usa.gov/xuT Increase the uninsured by 29 million: http://go.usa.gov/xMU Kick people out of new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans: http://go.usa.gov/x60 Eliminate the small business tax credit: http://go.usa.gov/xsj Re-open the Medicare Part D donut hole: http://go.usa.gov/xGe Repeal investment in health IT: http://go.usa.gov/xGF More to come... # # #
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