don't know if this is true (4.00 / 1)

but a Bleeding Heartland commenter who supports single payer and thinks the various draft bills floating around are useless says a ban on rescission wouldn't accomplish anything:

Rescission based on medical claims or diagnosis of illness is already prohibited under HIPAA (1996), aka "guaranteed renewal." Enforcement is through the states. States have a consumer division in the office of the commissioner.

It may seem difficult to believe, but health insurance exists to serve a public policy goal. Since health insurance is in the service of the public welfare, it is regulated both by the federal and state governments. That the rescission practice continues unabated is an issue of weak or lax enforcement.

CA has really stepped up on enforcement recently. Yet, the end result is the same:

   

It seems like I have already written or heard of this story before. Oh, I have. In September of 2008 I posted on another settlement reached by Health Net with 926 of its policy holders that were wrongfully rescinded. This time the settlement was for $13 million, and was supposed to be accompanied by a moratorium on policy rescisions and cooperation with regulatory agencies.

Insurance companies continue the practice undeterred, because they know a solid nr of victims will not have the time, the resources, or simply will be too sick, to pursue relief. It goes to arbitration. If your state isn't doing enough on your behalf, you need an attorney for action.

We don't have a bill yet. The only reference I could find is in HR3200, and specific guidelines don't get written up by HHS until mid-2010.

The devil will be in the details. If the guidelines are simply discretionary, leaving actual enforcement to the state exchanges, then we are right back to the status quo.

If she is right about this (and she is usually well-informed), I am finding it harder to believe that Congress will be able to stop even this egregious abuse.

Join the Iowa progressive community at Bleeding Heartland.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Mon Aug 10, 2009 at 15:15:03 PM UTC

It's about damn time... (0.00 / 0)

They start fighting the right and stop spending all their time trying to muzzle us. They should have realized earlier that the "bipartisan mystique" would never materialize. They just need to get the best bill possible passed ASAP.

Yes, Virginia, there are progressives in Nevada.

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by: Andrew Davey @ Mon Aug 10, 2009 at 16:34:07 PM UTC

About time. But will that help? (0.00 / 0)

I guess many of those people won't believe anything coming from a Dem government. And I'm sure some even can't read.

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by: Gray @ Mon Aug 10, 2009 at 16:42:27 PM UTC

If it doesn't (0.00 / 0)

then the war was lost before it even started.

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by: DTOzone @ Mon Aug 10, 2009 at 16:58:01 PM UTC

[ Parent ]