'Patient's Bill of Rights' Marks a Milestone

Patients & Doctors To Be Empowered With Health Care Decisions - Not The Insurance Companies!

Plainfield - Insurance companies will no longer be allowed to drop coverage when people get sick. Lifetime caps will no longer be allowed. Annual caps will be phased out. Children with pre-existing conditions will no longer be denied coverage. Children up to 26 years old will be allowed to remain on their parents' insurance plan. Discrimination based on income will be prohibited. And an independent appeals process will be established to handle disputes.

These are among the key provisions of the Patient's Bill of Rights that will take effect this week, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. said on Tuesday when he joined with individuals directly impacted by the changes and consumer groups who fight for patients' rights.

"This week marks a milestone for the health care rights of all Americans," said Pallone. "From now on, patients and their doctors will have the rights and the abilities to make medical decisions, not the insurance companies. "For far too long, the insurance companies put themselves between patients and their doctors and imposed decisions or constraints that often put profits ahead of medical priorities. The Patient's Bill of Rights will go a long way to change all that."

Until now, patients were often at the mercy of insurance companies at times when they needed health care the most. Among the reforms that will take effect starting September 23, 2010 that shift the power of health care decisions are:

Until Now: Insurance companies were able to retroactively cancel your policy when you became sick.
Under Reform: The new law prohibits insurance plans from rescinding your coverage when you get sick.

Until Now: Thousands of families were denied insurance for their children just because they were born with a health condition or they have become sick.
Under Reform: The new law prohibits insurance plans both from denying coverage and limiting benefits for children based on a pre-existing condition.

Until Now: Over 100 million Americans have been enrolled in insurance plans that impose lifetime limits on coverage -- meaning when a catastrophic illness strikes, they were in danger of bankruptcy when their health costs exceed the limit.
Under Reform: The new law outlaws lifetime limits.

Until Now: Even more aggressive than lifetime limits are annual dollar limits on what an insurance company will pay for health care.
Under Reform: The new law phases out the use of annual limits.

Until Now: Most insurance companies did not allow parents to keep their young adult children on their plan.
Under Reform: The new law requires insurance plans that offer family coverage to allow young people up to their 26th birthday.

Until Now: Millions of Americans did not have the right under their insurance plan to have an "external appeal" of insurance company decisions.
Under Reform: The new law prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage for needed care without a chance to appeal to an independent third party.

Also taking effect this week is a requirement that new policies include preventive care services with no co-pays or deductibles. Preventive care is one of the most effective - and cost efficient - ways of preventing or minimizing the seriousness of health problems. Also prohibited under the reforms are any discriminatory practices that favor higher-wage workers.

The Patient's Bill of Rights is part of the health care reform law, The Affordable Care Act, enacted this year, with many provisions taking effect on a timetable.

"The Patient's Bill of Rights is as important to the practice of health care in as the Bill of Rights is to American Democracy," said Pallone.

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