Kathy Dahlkemper on the benefits of health care reform

New Health Care Rule Delivers on Promise to Keep Existing Plans
by Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
Monday, 14 June 2010


WASHINGTON—Western Pennsylvanians who like and want to keep their health care plans can be reassured that the Affordable Care Act will protect their existing coverage and provide them new consumer protections that will make their health insurance better. The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury today issued a new regulation under the Affordable Care Act on “grandfathered” (or existing) health plans that will protect the rights of those who want to keep their insurance.

“During the health care debate, I told concerned citizens that if they liked their health insurance, they could keep it under the new reform. Today, we are delivering on that promise,” Rep. Dahlkemper said. “The new regulation protects your ability to keep your insurance and provides new benefits and consumer protections to make your coverage even better. Consumers want more choice and more control when it comes to their health insurance, and we’re giving that to them through the new health care reform.”

The rule announced today ensures that consumers can keep their current plan if they like it. It also gives these consumers new benefits, including:

No lifetime limits on coverage for all plans,
Ending the insurance company practice of rescinding coverage when people get sick and have previously made an unintentional mistake on their application; and
Rep. Dahlkemper’s Young Adult Healthcare provision which offers parents the option to keep their adult children up to age 26 on their insurance plan.
“Grandfathered” plans include those that existed on March 23, 2010. Plans will lose their “grandfather” status if they choose to significantly cut benefits or increase out-of-pocket spending for consumers. Those in plans that make such changes will gain new consumer protections under the Affordable Care Act.

Most of the 133 million Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance through large employers will maintain the coverage they have today. Large employer-based plans already offer most of the comprehensive benefits and consumer protections that the Affordable Care Act will provide to all Americans this year and in the future, such as preventing lifetime limits on coverage.

People who work in smaller firms and those who purchase their own insurance—both of whom change insurers more often than those covered through large employers—will enjoy all of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act when they choose a new plan. These Americans also will benefit from the new competitive Exchanges that will be established in 2014 to offer individuals and workers in small businesses with greater choice of plans at more affordable rates—the same choice of plans as members of Congress.

For the vast majority of Americans who get their health insurance through employers, additional benefits will be offered, irrespective of whether their plan is grandfathered, including:

No coverage exclusions for children with pre-existing conditions; and
No “restricted” annual limits (e.g., annual dollar-amount limits on coverage below standards to be set in future regulations).

For a comprehensive fact sheet, check out the link below.
http://dahlkemper.house.gov/images/stories/2010-6-14_Grandfather_fact_sheet.pdf