The "Patient's Bill of Rights" announced

The Obama administration released a package of new health care reform regulations at a White House event on June 22.


"Today," the President said, "I'm announcing that the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury are issuing new regulations..that will put an end to some of the worst practices in the insurance industry, and put in place the strongest consumer protections in our history - finally what amounts to a true Patient's Bill of Rights."

The regulations that were issued address preexisting condition exclusions for children (no one under 19 can be excluded in policies issued or renewed on or after September 23), lifetime and annual limits on essential benefits (no more lifetime limits in any policies issued or renewed on or after September 23; annual limits will be phased out over three years), restrictions on rescissions (no more rescissions except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of facts), and patient protections relating to emergency services and choice of health care professionals (these two protections do not apply to grandfathered plans). See the HHS fact sheet here.

SEE THE ABOVE LINK ON MORE OF THE DETAILS OF THIS "PATIENT'S BILL OF RIGHTS", AND MOST OF THESE PROVISIONS TAKE EFFECT THIS YEAR!!!!  HOWEVER, AS A BENEFITS AGENT MANY OF THESE THINGS ARE GREAT, BUT ARE THINGS THAT MAY LEAD TO HIGHER PREMIUM COSTS.  YOU CAN'T COVER AND EXTEND ALL THESE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS WITHOUT COVERING IT SOMEHOW? 

In his remarks, the President described health reform as "a long overdue victory for America's consumers and patients. It does away with the status quo that some insurance companies have taken advantage of for so long," he said.

"But insurance companies should see this reform as an opportunity to improve care and increase competition," he continued. "They shouldn't see it as an opportunity to enact unjustifiable rate increases that don't boost care and inflate their bottom line." Obama said his administration would work with the states to monitor premium increases.

But he also acknowledged that "there are genuine cost-drivers that are not caused by insurance companies." Ron Williams, CEO of Aetna, pointed out some of them when he talked to the press after the meeting. For example, the rule that insurers allow children to stay on their parent's plan until age 26 "does increase costs," Williams said, "and that cost is going to show up in the premium increases." He added that increases in hospital, doctor and drug costs will, too.

Obama also addressed health care politics. He said, "We're in Washington, so obviously there's politics involved. We've got some folks on the other side of the aisle who still say none of this should have happened, and, in fact, said they're going to run on a platform of repeal. They want to go back to the system we had before. Would you? Would you want to go back to discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions? Would you want to go back to dropping coverage for people when they get sick?...

"We're not going back. I refuse to go back,”"the President said.