Geo

Republican bill on pre-existing conditions is not what it appears to be
08/27/18 08:40 AM
By Steve Benen
Oral arguments will begin next week in a federal lawsuit called Texas v. United States, which you're going to want to keep an eye on. The Republican lawsuit, brought by 20 states, argues that the recent repeal of the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act means that the entire law should be deemed unconstitutional, including current protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions.

Donald Trump and his administration endorsed the litigation and announced in June that they would not defend Obamacare in the courts.

There are all sorts of things wrong with the endeavor, but among the implications is a potential political nightmare for the Republican Party: as the midterm e******ns draw closer, and polls show health care as one of the nations top campaign issues, GOP officials are fighting to gut the health security of millions of American families on purpose and for reasons that don't seem to make any sense.

And with this in mind, several Senate Republicans came up with an idea intended to give the appearance of helping Americans who may suffer if their own partys litigation succeeds. Bloomberg Politics reported the other day:

Ten Senate Republicans have introduced legislation that would reinstate Obamacare rules that prohibit insurers from turning away people with pre-existing conditions if a new lawsuit that seeks to invalidate the health-care law succeeds.

The Ensuring Coverage for Patients with Pre-Existing Conditions Act was announced Friday by Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Dean Heller of Nevada, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Barrasso of Wyoming, and Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

So, for health care advocates, this is a step in the right direction, right? Wrong.


Jeff Young did a nice job explaining why the new GOP bill is a fraud.

Yes, insurance companies wouldn't be allowed to refuse to offer coverage to someone who, for example, has a history of cancer or is pregnant. But they could sell someone a policy that doesn't cover cancer treatments or the birth of a child.

Sure, premiums wouldn't be allowed to vary based on health status or pre-existing conditions. But prices could dramatically vary based on age, g****r, occupation and other factors, including hobbies, in ways that are functionally the same as basing them on medical histories. Insurance companies have a lot of experience figuring out that stuff.

There's no need to speculate about how insurance companies would respond to this because this is how the system worked for people who bought individual policies before the Affordable Care Act.

Larry Levitt, the senior vice president for health reform at the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, added in comments to Bloomberg Politics that this new GOP gambit is filled with loopholes intended to hurt those with pre-existing conditions.

An insurer would have to give you insurance if you have a pre-existing condition, but it could exclude any services associated with your pre-existing condition, Levitt said. This would make protections for people with pre-existing conditions a bit of a mirage.

It's unclear whether there is any meaningful appetite among Republican leaders to take up such a bill there really aren't many legislative days remaining between now and E******n Day which means its entirely possible that the proposal is for show. GOP lawmakers who want to be able to claim to support health care protections can point to this bill as some kind of proof of progressive intentions. It's more about creating political cover than creating meaningful protections.

Anyone who believes the sponsor's claims will be making a mistake.

Bad Bob Loc: Virginia

nwtk2007 Loc: Texas

Healthcare is the thorn in the side of modern man. As long as we have the for profit system and insurance companies are involved, the pre-existing conditions issue cannot function. It will not allow for sustainable healthcare. It is a lost cause.

billman6 Loc: Top of Texas

You truly don't understand what a failure Obamacare is. My premiums went from $600 dollars a month to close to $1500 dollars a month. My deductable went from $1500 dollars a year for my family to $6000 a year per person. Three people on the policy two of whom had pre-existing conditions. Please tell me where this was fair. That's $36000 a year out of pocket just for health Care. I don't know many people who can afford this. I couldn't, it broke me trying to keep the crap. I'm tired of you freaking morons trying to act like that was good health Care. They could give a rats crap that my wife and daughter had pre-existing conditions. Millions of other people have dealt with the same BS that I did. Please educate yourself.

nwtk2007 Loc: Texas

Totally true for most of us.

kankune Loc: Iowa

Exactly Bill. We have no healthcare. We only have a piece of paper that states we do. It isn't worth the toilet paper you wipe.your butt on!!

kc2wex

The government doesn't need to get into healthcare, just to make sure that providers are honest.

Bad Bob Loc: Virginia

Not for me.

Bad Bob Loc: Virginia

Trump and the Reflubs are going to fix it.

Bad Bob Loc: Virginia

Too bad ain't it?

woodguru

The country that a lot of people would like to think has "the best" medical expertise in the world that lets people die if they can't afford it.

There is a huge list of medications that cost a few dollars in other countries that our government is charged hundreds and even thousands for.

The cost of a knee replacement here is going to be somewhere well north of $50k, it can be done in India the exact same way for $8k, and that includes three weeks of rehab and physical therapy in a resort like environment.

People in this country don't realize how bad this system is until they have a heart attack, cancer, or a stroke and then find their savings or equity in their homes eaten up with copays and amounts their health care plan doesn't cover.