There have been a lot of changes involving health insurance this year, and there will be more coming in the next few years. A quick look at the headlines shows that there have been some very different reactions to these changes. While some people, or organizations, feel that these changes are a positive things, others see them as negative.
On the positive side, consumers have been seeing some benefits about the cost of health insurance. Some of the new regulations also are to the benefit of consumers. Private insurance companies are no longer allowed to deny health insurance coverage to children under the age of 19 specifically because that child has a pre-existing condition. Insurance companies also are no longer allowed to impose a lifetime limit, or to put a spending cap on coverage. They can no longer cancel a policy unless there is proof that the consumer has committed insurance fraud. The days where an insurance company can deny your health claim without giving you a chance to appeal the decision are gone.
In addition to those changes, insurance companies are now required to provide free preventative health services. This includes screenings, vaccinations, and counseling at no charge, (no co-payment, and no deductible). Young adults who are younger than age 26 can now be covered by their parent’s health insurance plan. Consumers are now able to select their own primary care physician, instead of having the insurance company dictate what doctor they can choose. Consumers are now able to use the nearest emergency room without concern about if it happens to be in their insurance plans network. No more charging people a ton of money because the were taken to the wrong ER after an accident.
On the other hand, some groups are seeing these new changes as a negative thing. Insurance companies will have to offer people who have pre-existing health conditions an insurance plan that costs the same amount as the plans do for a person who has no pre-existing conditions. Many have decided to make health insurance cost more for all consumers, as a response to this new regulation. Other insurance companies are not happy about being required to cover children under their parent’s health care plan, especially if the child is already sick, or already has pre-existing conditions that may require expensive care. As a result, these insurance companies have decided to cease offering health insurance plans that cover children, at all. This will affect many families. Some people who are using Medicare may soon be paying a higher monthly premium, as a result of the closure of the “doughnut hole”.
Image by Bernhard Suter on Flickr