Administration bolsters patients against 'insurance company abuse' A BIG FUCKING DEAL!

[Beetwasher]

WASHINGTON – Three federal agencies have combined to announce new regulations that would allow patients to appeal health plan denials and "help support and protect consumers and help end some of the worst insurance company abuses."

The regulations, issued Thursday by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury, are part of new patient consumer rights mandated under the Affordable Care Act. They give patients the right to appeal decisions made by a health plan through the plan's internal process and, for the first time, the right to appeal decisions made by a health plan to an outside, independent decision-maker, no matter what state a patient lives in or what type of health coverage he or she has.

Insurance companies say they already offer a review process. According to Robert Zirkelbach, press secretary for America's Health Insurance Plans, "Health plans have a long track record of supporting third-party review to give patients greater peace of mind about their health care coverage."

"We support the National Association of Insurance Commissioners external review model," Zirkelbach said, "and we are currently reviewing the new regulations to see how they compare to existing state programs.”

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http://healthcarefinancenews.com/news/administration-bolsters-patients-against-insurance-company-abuse

As I've said all along, the Feds now have their foot in a door that was sealed shut to them in the past. They are IN THE MIX NOW for GOOD. Oversight and regulation NOW on the Federal level IS a big, big deal folks. Yes it is.