Elana Levin

Scariest Bill you’ve never heard of

amNew York ran an op-ed today that's so scary my heart is pounding (and it's not my coffee, I swear).

Imagine if you woke up tomorrow and your hard won health insurance coverage for contraception, mammograms or cervical cancer was gone.

Imagine if, despite having insurance, you could no longer afford the care you needed. Now, imagine that there was nothing you - or your state government - could do to help you.

Under the duplicitous, Orwellian name "Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act" heretofore to be called the "Lose Your Benefits Act" or the "No Preventative Care for You! Act" proposed by Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY) would take away the state's right to demand that health insurance companies cover basic health services as part of their plans. New York State and other states that care about their residents' health and know how much cheaper preventative care is in the long run have required health insurers to offer preventative care, screenings and contraceptives.

...and I thought Conservatives were for state's rights...

If this law change took effect insurance companies everywhere would have the ability to raise their premiums for older or sicker people so high that the people that need care most would not be able to afford it at all. What do we as a society expect will happen to those people that would no longer be offered affordable coverage? Is Senator Enzi just crossing his fingers and hoping that my Aunt falls off the face of the earth? Does he want my twenty-five year old friend whose ovarian cancer was detected in time for her life to be saved and who is now a freelance worker to just die if she ever gets sick again? Because that is what would happen to people I love if they don't have comprehensive health insurance with preventative screenings and direct OB-GYN care required.

As Amy Traub has show in her blog post last week and Harvey Rosenfield has proven via California's Prop. 103 there are real ways to lower the cost of insurance. Ways that won't lead to people dying because they were denied a screening for cervical cancer.

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People aren't taking it lying down. Planned Parenthood is taking action and educating the public. So are some folks in the NYS Assembly so take the time to explain to your friends what is at risk. Remember, it IS personal.

Elana Levin: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 10:27 AM, Apr 03, 2006 in Health Care | Insurance Industry
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