Insurers Announce End of Child-Only Insurance Policies

If you think this week is a time for celebrating as the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act going into effect this week, think again.  For you skeptics (myself included!), today comes the announcement from several major insurers that they will drop certain policies that would cover children who have pre-existing conditions rather than comply with the new law and lose money for their shareholders.

Yeah, that's just the kind of country we apparently live in.  I'm waiting for the next shoe to drop in the not-entirely-unexpected insurance story I call, "Is Anyone Surprised?"

Read more about it:

Washington Post: Some Insurers Halt New Child-only Policies

Wall Street Journal: Some U.S. Health Insurers To Stop Selling Child-Policies

NPR: Health Insurers Skirt New Requirements

Forbes: Do Health Insurers Have a Moral Obligation to Sick Children?

Politics Daily: On 6-Month B-day of Health Law, Will Patient Protection Win it Some Love?

Image by Joanne aka PunditMom.

Comments

[Lisse]

I'm wondering if, in the long run, this doesn't turn into a positive thing. These companies which have chosen to drop child-only policies rather than comply with the law are probably those most likely to screw their existing customers when those customers have a real need for services.

By choosing to shrink their own pool of customers, those insurance companies are essentially making themselves less competitive with larger companies whose larger pools help them spread out the risk.

As the protection mandates continue to fall in line, there will be fewer and fewer places that these unethical companies can hide.

[Christina]

Honestly? I think the media should announce which insurance companies are doing this loud and clear. We all need to make sure that these companies are known to everyone.

Shame them.

Yes, they may have the right to do this in our country, but we have the right to call them on their despicable ways and encourage people not to do business with them. If I worked for a company that had an insurance plan with one of these companies, I'd be willing to lobby my HR dept to select a new provider for next year, and encourage other employees to request a change as well.

[Cynematic]

Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) is calling out the insurers by name and demanding that they comply with the new Affordable Care Act. He was previously CA's Insurance Commissioner, so he's well aware of their tricks. He also points out that they violate the Patient's Bill of Rights, which is also part of the new health insurance reform law.

Major Insurance Companies Prefer Making a Killing Over Protecting Kids:
http://garamendi.house.gov/2010/09/major-insurance-companies-prefer-making-a-killing-over-protecting-kids-garamendi-says.shtml

[PunditMom/Joanne Bamberger]

Cyn, I'm glad someone has started to take on this stunt. Hopefully others will follow.

[Kathleen]

These insurance companies need a kick in the arse .... Yep, how cruel and inhuman are these mega companies.