Arizona allowing federal program to insure sicker residents

Arizona joined 20 other states last week to permit the federal government to run health plans that provide coverage to individuals whose pre-existing medical conditions make it impossible for them to obtain private coverage.

This plan, part of the Affordable Care Act, is a temporary program that will end in 2014 when the Act is fully in place.

Until then, health insurers can continue discriminatory practices including:

• Refusing to honor advertised prices that lure consumers into applying for coverage and revealing personal health information for underwriters
• Excluding to cover certain conditions, including prenatal care and delivery services for women who are pregnant or become pregnant
• Refusing to cover adults who have pre-existing conditions

Charges of socialism aside, the Act, when fully in place, will prohibit these practices. Starting in 2014, plans will have to honor their advertised commitment to healthcare:

• No one can be denied coverage because of a health or medical condition
• No one can be charged a higher premium because of health status or gender (women are generally charged higher premiums then men)
• There will be limits on how much an individual can be charged based on age
• Plans will have stricter limits on out-of-pocket costs passed to consumers
• Plans will have to cover essential benefits such as prenatal care

Beginning in September, plans will no longer be able to reject children who have pre-existing conditions that can range from asthma to cancer. They can, however, continue to charge higher premiums to cover sick children until 2014.

Be assured, they are doing so as we speak. This writer applied for coverage with a private insurer and was accepted at a rate that is almost 40% higher than what was advertised. (Neither the writer nor her insured suffer from serious illnesses, own motorcycles, or engage in high-risk or illegal behaviors we were queried about.)

For more information, visit healthcare.gov.