GOP Health Bill Changes Could Kill Protections For Those With Pre-Existing Conditions

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http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/23/521220359/gop-health-bill-changes-could-kill-protections-for-people-with-preexisting-conditions

When House Speaker Paul Ryan says he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act so that people can buy insurance that's right for them, and not something created in Washington, part of what he's saying is that he wants to get rid of so-called essential health benefits.

That's a list of 10 general categories of medical care that all insurance policies are required to cover under the Affordable Care Act.

Getting rid of that requirement, or trimming it, is central to the Republican strategy, because they say those benefits drive up insurance premiums so much that healthy people won't buy coverage.

But if Republicans repeal that list, they essentially renege on a promise they've repeated over and over to voters, that they will protect people with pre-existing medical conditions.

"Protections for pre-existing conditions only work as long as plans have to cover the services you need because of your pre-existing condition," says Rodney Whitlock, a vice president at the consulting group ML Strategies who was a Republican staffer on the Senate Finance Committee when the Affordable Care Act was passed. "By repealing [essential health benefits], a plan may no longer have to cover those services, making the protection potentially meaningless."

That's because if insurance companies don't have a list of medical services they have to include in their policies, they can sell stripped-down policies and then charge extra for specific types of coverage. more...

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Ryan is having multiple orgasms at the very thought of killing thousands of the poor

and making millions of us homeless.

Some of the people he will kill, will still want to vote for him.

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3. a friend said he's a Xtian---true?

If so, we should bombard him w/tweets and FB posts about his "charity" work.

[Eliot Rosewater]

5. Christ would have to

slap the shit out of this little fucking punk

Am I the only one who realizes he is trying to kill me?

Some others better start realizing and reacting accordingly.

[Hoyt]

2. That would produce the ultimate damage to people. Of course, GOPers are fine with that.

[dalton99a]

4. Kick.

[asiliveandbreathe]

6. Why bother having Insurance..you pay, you get nothing..

Imagine if everyone cancels policies.....then what - seems to me that is exactly what the feds are doing...and saying...you pay, you still get no coverage..why bother having ins. at all!!!!

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