Durbin: Health overhaul will be noticeable
STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
September 20, 2010
By: Rhys Saunders
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin on Sunday discussed the details of health-care overhaul that is expected to go into effect Thursday, saying more than 400,000 college-age Illinoisans and their parents will notice a difference immediately.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes provisions that allow young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26 and provides safeguards that prevent children younger than 19 being denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
“To think … over 400,000 young people in our state between the ages of 19 and 25 now could stay on their parents’ dependent coverage plan, this is going to give them some peace of mind,” Durbin said during a press conference. “Parents who have children with pre-existing conditions can finally breathe a sigh of relief. You cannot appreciate the desperation you feel when you think you may be canceled at the last second or not even get coverage because of a pre-existing condition.”
The bill also bans lifetime limits on benefits and rescissions, ensuring 7.5 million Illinois residents with private insurance don’t lose their coverage.
Durbin said Illinois leads the nation in the number of rescissions, which are cancellations of coverage by health insurance companies, by nearly three times the national average. Between 2004 and 2008, the insurance industry dropped 5,632 people in Illinois from their rolls, he added.
Many rescissions result from omissions or incorrect information on applications for health insurance, according to Durbin.
“What kind of things do the insurance companies find to turn people down?” Durbin rhetorically asked. “One teenager in our state had their dependent coverage rescinded when this young person needed it due to the failure of that teenager and the parents to disclose she had a congenital deformity. Do you know what it was? She wore braces on her teeth.”
“Our rescission rate is like three times the national average in Illinois. No more game playing. That comes to an end.”
The plan also seeks to restrict annual limits.
“Those are the limits that come into effect when somebody faces a serious illness that is extremely expensive and they find the health insurance plan that they thought covered them doesn’t cover them enough,” he said.
However, health care overhaul has come under fire as Republicans vow to repeal and replace the Democrats’ version if the GOP wins control of Congress. So far they haven’t given an alternative.
Some are proponents of major changes to workplace coverage, while many would like to see smaller steps to avoid political land mines.
Durbin acknowledged his party’s bill is not perfect and says he’s not sure whether the benefits, which most Americans will feel immediately, could benefit Democrats in the upcoming election.
“I don’t know how much people will hinge their votes on these provisions,” he said. “I think this bill is a step in the right direction. There are people who say this bill is not perfect and it’s going to need to be changed…the only perfect law was written on stone tablets and carried down a mountain by Senator Moses. There will be improvements needed in the future.”
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin on Sunday discussed the details of health-care overhaul that is expected to go into effect Thursday, saying more than 400,000 college-age Illinoisans and their parents will notice a difference immediately.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes provisions that allow young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26 and provides safeguards that prevent children younger than 19 being denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
“To think … over 400,000 young people in our state between the ages of 19 and 25 now could stay on their parents’ dependent coverage plan, this is going to give them some peace of mind,” Durbin said during a press conference. “Parents who have children with pre-existing conditions can finally breathe a sigh of relief. You cannot appreciate the desperation you feel when you think you may be canceled at the last second or not even get coverage because of a pre-existing condition.”
The bill also bans lifetime limits on benefits and rescissions, ensuring 7.5 million Illinois residents with private insurance don’t lose their coverage.
Durbin said Illinois leads the nation in the number of rescissions, which are cancellations of coverage by health insurance companies, by nearly three times the national average. Between 2004 and 2008, the insurance industry dropped 5,632 people in Illinois from their rolls, he added.
Many rescissions result from omissions or incorrect information on applications for health insurance, according to Durbin.
“What kind of things do the insurance companies find to turn people down?” Durbin rhetorically asked. “One teenager in our state had their dependent coverage rescinded when this young person needed it due to the failure of that teenager and the parents to disclose she had a congenital deformity. Do you know what it was? She wore braces on her teeth.”
“Our rescission rate is like three times the national average in Illinois. No more game playing. That comes to an end.”
The plan also seeks to restrict annual limits.
“Those are the limits that come into effect when somebody faces a serious illness that is extremely expensive and they find the health insurance plan that they thought covered them doesn’t cover them enough,” he said.
However, health care overhaul has come under fire as Republicans vow to repeal and replace the Democrats’ version if the GOP wins control of Congress. So far they haven’t given an alternative.
Some are proponents of major changes to workplace coverage, while many would like to see smaller steps to avoid political land mines.
Durbin acknowledged his party’s bill is not perfect and says he’s not sure whether the benefits, which most Americans will feel immediately, could benefit Democrats in the upcoming election.
“I don’t know how much people will hinge their votes on these provisions,” he said. “I think this bill is a step in the right direction. There are people who say this bill is not perfect and it’s going to need to be changed…the only perfect law was written on stone tablets and carried down a mountain by Senator Moses. There will be improvements needed in the future.”