In an article in today's Washington Post, Scott Wilson writes that President Obama will start campaigning for a number of very significant health insurance reform measures not previously addressed, including:
No exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
In addition, Obama will press for health care reform to include other major substantive reforms that will end private insurance abuses.
That will include:
No cost-sharing for preventive care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
An end to policies that discriminate against women:
Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
No lifetime or annual care denial based on financial limits:
No annual or lifetime caps on coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
And an end to recission practices:
Guaranteed insurance renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.
The article goes on to state that he will, on his coming public appearances on health care, also highlight areas he has already addressed before: putting an end to pre-existing conditions, coverage dropped or changed after a patient becomes ill with any condition, and extending coverage for young adults so that children could be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
The article is here: page 2, page 3 and page 4. Strangely, page 1 has been removed and converted to a different summary article that doesn't give the detailed info on pages 2-4. In particular pages 3 and 4 have the significant information on his planned pitch for insurance reform.
It appears Obama is about to get very serious about reigning in private insurance abuses for the upcoming final stretch of health reform legislative battles.
As Obama makes his pitch, we'll need to put the pressure on Congress to see his insurance reform proposals above are put into legislation. A strong enough public option, along with these strong private insurance reforms and a new regulatory role for the government over insurance will go a long way to stop the suffering of the American people in our sick health care system.