Dear Friend,
I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the many important consumer protections in Health Care Reform that take effect today. These new protections will improve your health insurance coverage whether you get it through your employer or buy it yourself. As you can see, this legislation is about putting you and your doctor – not an insurance company – in charge of your health care.
All of these provisions take effect for the next plan year starting on or after today. As you enter your open enrollment season, you can be confident that these protections will be in place to assure you get the coverage you deserve. Over the next few years, these reforms will be expanded to provide even greater protections for you and your loved ones.
Click on each of the new consumer protections below or scroll down for more information, and be sure to visit HealthCare.gov to learn more about the numerous benefits of Health Care Reform for you and your family. And, as always, please be sure to stay in touch via my website and Facebook Page.
NEW BENEFITS TAKING EFFECT TODAY
- No More Recissions
- No More Discrimination Against Children for Pre-Existing Conditions
- No More Lifetime Limits
- No More Out-of-Network Emergency Rooms
- Expanded Coverage for Young Adults
- Greater Choice in Physicians
- The Right to Appeal
No More Recissions
All too often insurance companies cancel a health policy just when it is needed most - when you or your child becomes sick or you are in an accident – often by doing things like combing through your original paperwork looking for unintentional mistakes about your past health conditions. Beginning today, insurance companies are prohibited from canceling your coverage when you get sick.
No More Discrimination Against Children for Pre-Existing Conditions
Every year thousands of families are denied insurance coverage for their children just because the child was diagnosed with a common health condition like asthma or diabetes. After passage of this legislation, the Secretary of Health & Human Services convinced many insurers to end this odious practice immediately, but beginning today all health insurance plans will be prohibited from denying coverage or limiting benefits for children based on a pre-existing condition.
No More Lifetime Limits
Many insurance companies have lifetime limits on the coverage they provide. This means when an illness or accident requiring costly treatment strikes you or your child, your insurance coverage could be cut off once the cost of your care reaches a certain dollar mark. This means your coverage is taken away right when you need it most. And it has forced millions of families into bankruptcy. Thanks to the new law, such lifetime limits will be banned. No longer will a catastrophic illness or unfortunate accident result in losing your insurance, driving you into bankruptcy or losing your home.
No More Out-of-Network Emergency Rooms
Thousands of Americans every year are hit with exorbitant charges from their insurance company because they use an out-of-network emergency room for urgent care. But when you get injured or sick unexpectedly, the last thing you should have to worry about is whether or not the closest emergency room is considered in-network for your insurance plan. Beginning today, new insurance plans are prohibited from charging higher copays for emergency services obtained out of a plan’s network.
Expanded Coverage for Young Adults
Most insurance companies cut children off their parents’ insurance plans at age 21 or upon college graduation. But young adults often lack access to employer-sponsored health coverage at the outset of their new careers. Beginning today, insurance plans that offer family coverage must allow young adult children to stay on their parents’ plan through their 26th birthday – giving them good coverage and giving mom and dad a little peace of mind.
Greater Choice in Physicians
Many insurance companies make it difficult to see the doctor you want to see. Beginning now, new plans must allow you your choice of primary care doctor within the plan’s network – and allow women to see OB-GYNs and children to see pediatricians without a referral.
The Right to Appeal
Until now, millions of Americans did not have the ability to appeal insurance company decisions to an independent third party, giving insurance companies an advantage when denying claims. The new law prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage for needed care without a chance for you to appeal that decision to an independent party.
LOIS CAPPS
Member of Congress
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