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</p>A signature achievement of Obamacare, we were told, was that it would provide immediate protection for children with pre-existing conditions.* In the brave new world of Obamacare, no ailing child could be denied coverage.
Turns out, that just aint so.* <ahref="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Gap-in-health-care-laws-apf-4272209396.html?x=0&.v=1">According to the Associated Press, Under the new law, insurance companies still would be able to refuse new coverage to children because of a pre-existing medical problem, said Karen Lightfoot, spokeswoman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, one of the main congressional panels that wrote the bill Obama signed into law Tuesday.* However, if a child is accepted for coverage, or is already covered, the insurer cannot exclude payment for treating a particular illness, as sometimes happens now.<spanid="more-30101"></span>
Its a problem Congress could have fixed this without resorting to a massive restructuring of our health care system.
How: Well, they could have made some simple changes to insurance rules to make sure policies will cover conditions discovered after the policy is issued.* They also should have moved to provide a path for the uninsured to get coverage of pre-existing conditions on a conditional basis.* And they certainly should have made it possible for individuals to by coverage from outside their states. This would both allow consumers to shop on a national basis for health insurance that best suits their needs and expand the coverage options available to them.
<ahref="http://fixhealthcarepolicy.com/reality">In a recent video, Heritage analyst Ed Haislmaier lays out how best to reform the insurance market to meet the needs of Americans with pre-existing conditions.* To learn more about patient-centered, bipartisan approaches to health care reform, <ahref="http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/02/The-Health-Care-Summit-A-Chance-to-Start-Over-and-Get-It-Right">click here.