Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Hate Medicare D? Brace yourself for the next one.
This is a very, very dangerous bill.
From the folks who brought you Medicare Part D(isaster), here's yet another bad idea for health care reform: the so-called Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (S.1955), known here in the Beltway as the "Enzi Bill." From the bill's intro: "...to expand health care access and reduce costs through the creation of small business health plans and through modernization of the health insurance marketplace."
Sounds harmless enough, right? In reality, this is an extremely dangerous bill that, if passed, could jeopardize the health care of 85 million Americans. Find out why after the jump. If you can't wait to do something, a coalition of national organizations is sponsoring a national call-in day tomorrow, May 3rd. Please take a minute tomorrow to call your Senators, toll free--1-800-828-0498--and tell them to vote NO on the Enzi bill.
The Enzi bill would jeopardize the health care of millions of Americans by overriding existing state laws that guarantee coverage of such crucial services as cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancer screenings, as well as mammograms, mental health, and well-child care. As Ron Pollack puts it: "The bill leaves consumers at the mercy of health insurance companies by overriding a range of state laws that protect the consumer and regulate insurance company behavior. Fundamental consumer protections that will be wiped out include: rules that limit premium discrimination based on health status, age, and sex; prohibitions of huge premium increases when people get sick; and prohibitions of misleading insurance company marketing practices."
Here are some examples of medical protection losses that could result from the Enzi bill (more fact sheets at the Enzi Bill Center:
Ohio: alcoholism treatment, cervical cancer screening, contraceptives, emergency services, infertility treatment, mammography screening, mental health (general), off-label drug use, and well child care.
California: alcoholism treatment, AIDS vaccine,blood lead screening, bone density screening, cervical cancer screening, clinical trials, colorectal screening, contraceptives, dental anesthesia, diabetic supplies and education, drug abuse treatment, emergency services, home health care, hospice care, infertility treatment, mammography screening, maternity, mental health parity, metabolic disorders/PKU, minimum mastectomy stay, off- label drug use, orthotics/prosthetics, prostate cancer screening, second medical/surgical opinion, and well-child care.
Florida: Alcoholism treatment, ambulance transportation, ambulatory surgery, bone marrow transplants, bone density screening, cleft palate, dental anesthesia, diabetes supplies and education, emergency services, home health care, mammography screening, mental health (general), metabolic disorders/PKU, minimum mastectomy stay, off-label drug use, prosthetics, TMJ Disorders, and well-child care.
There's already wide opposition aligned against this bill, including 254 organizations, 41 state attorneys general, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and many others. Editorial writers are also weighing in: "The measure's goal is ostensibly to allow small businesses to jointly purchase health insurance for employees. A laudable goal, certainly. In our national system of employer-provided health insurance, the small enterprise is notoriously a weak link.... But Enzi's bill uses small businesses and their workers as human shields to mask an all-out assault on state regulation of health insurance across the country. He proposes to preempt state regulators on a wide range of issues, replacing their standards with federal rules that in some respects have already proven to be dismal failures, and in other respects will be easily manipulated by the insurance industry. The preemptions will apply not only to small-employer plans, but to individual health insurance and large-group plans, too -- in other words, pretty much everybody."
The result? People will have to choose between accepting barebones policies and paying higher rates for the more comprehensive coverage they need, while small business will see their health care costs skyrocket as the bill pits the young and healthy against the sick and old. A bill that wholly undermines the very concept of health insurance isn't reform--it's a giveaway to the insurance industry.
A coalition of national organizations is sponsoring a national call-in day on tomorrow, May 3rd. Please take a minute tomorrow to call your Senators, toll free--1-800-828-0498--and tell them to vote NO on the Enzi bill.
From the folks who brought you Medicare Part D(isaster), here's yet another bad idea for health care reform: the so-called Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (S.1955), known here in the Beltway as the "Enzi Bill." From the bill's intro: "...to expand health care access and reduce costs through the creation of small business health plans and through modernization of the health insurance marketplace."
Sounds harmless enough, right? In reality, this is an extremely dangerous bill that, if passed, could jeopardize the health care of 85 million Americans. Find out why after the jump. If you can't wait to do something, a coalition of national organizations is sponsoring a national call-in day tomorrow, May 3rd. Please take a minute tomorrow to call your Senators, toll free--1-800-828-0498--and tell them to vote NO on the Enzi bill.
The Enzi bill would jeopardize the health care of millions of Americans by overriding existing state laws that guarantee coverage of such crucial services as cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancer screenings, as well as mammograms, mental health, and well-child care. As Ron Pollack puts it: "The bill leaves consumers at the mercy of health insurance companies by overriding a range of state laws that protect the consumer and regulate insurance company behavior. Fundamental consumer protections that will be wiped out include: rules that limit premium discrimination based on health status, age, and sex; prohibitions of huge premium increases when people get sick; and prohibitions of misleading insurance company marketing practices."
Here are some examples of medical protection losses that could result from the Enzi bill (more fact sheets at the Enzi Bill Center:
Ohio: alcoholism treatment, cervical cancer screening, contraceptives, emergency services, infertility treatment, mammography screening, mental health (general), off-label drug use, and well child care.
California: alcoholism treatment, AIDS vaccine,blood lead screening, bone density screening, cervical cancer screening, clinical trials, colorectal screening, contraceptives, dental anesthesia, diabetic supplies and education, drug abuse treatment, emergency services, home health care, hospice care, infertility treatment, mammography screening, maternity, mental health parity, metabolic disorders/PKU, minimum mastectomy stay, off- label drug use, orthotics/prosthetics, prostate cancer screening, second medical/surgical opinion, and well-child care.
Florida: Alcoholism treatment, ambulance transportation, ambulatory surgery, bone marrow transplants, bone density screening, cleft palate, dental anesthesia, diabetes supplies and education, emergency services, home health care, mammography screening, mental health (general), metabolic disorders/PKU, minimum mastectomy stay, off-label drug use, prosthetics, TMJ Disorders, and well-child care.
There's already wide opposition aligned against this bill, including 254 organizations, 41 state attorneys general, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and many others. Editorial writers are also weighing in: "The measure's goal is ostensibly to allow small businesses to jointly purchase health insurance for employees. A laudable goal, certainly. In our national system of employer-provided health insurance, the small enterprise is notoriously a weak link.... But Enzi's bill uses small businesses and their workers as human shields to mask an all-out assault on state regulation of health insurance across the country. He proposes to preempt state regulators on a wide range of issues, replacing their standards with federal rules that in some respects have already proven to be dismal failures, and in other respects will be easily manipulated by the insurance industry. The preemptions will apply not only to small-employer plans, but to individual health insurance and large-group plans, too -- in other words, pretty much everybody."
The result? People will have to choose between accepting barebones policies and paying higher rates for the more comprehensive coverage they need, while small business will see their health care costs skyrocket as the bill pits the young and healthy against the sick and old. A bill that wholly undermines the very concept of health insurance isn't reform--it's a giveaway to the insurance industry.
A coalition of national organizations is sponsoring a national call-in day on tomorrow, May 3rd. Please take a minute tomorrow to call your Senators, toll free--1-800-828-0498--and tell them to vote NO on the Enzi bill.
