Legislation would require coverage for pre-existing conditions

The National Patient Advocate Foundation is praising legislation recently introduced in Congress that would end individual health insurance exclusions for people with pre-existing conditions.

In a statement this week, the organization highlighted a recent bill by Senator Jay Rockefeller which would amend the federal HIPAA health care law of 1996 to close provisions allowing the denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions.

"Because of gaps in current law, many Americans suffering from chronic, disabling, and life-threatening conditions either have no health insurance coverage or are continuously at risk of losing the coverage they have," said Nancy Davenport-Ennis, president and CEO of NPAF, in a statement.

A report by Dow Jones newswires notes that congressional Democrats may move to incorporate this proposal into a broader package of health insurance reforms. The news organization also quoted Congressman Joe Courtney, who introduced a similar bill in the House, as suggesting that instead of driving up expenses for insurance companies, the plan could actually help them manage costs better.

Roger Zirkelbach of America's Health Insurance Plans also told Dow Jones that his group could support the proposed rule as long as it was combined with a separate proposal that would require all Americans to get health insurance.

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