House leaders yesterday unveiled the Protecting Pre-existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019 – a legislative package designed to build on the Affordable Care Act to expand health insurance coverage for individuals and protect patients with pre-existing conditions.
The American Hospital Association reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-NJ, Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-MA, Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott, D-VA, and other Democrats released the bill yesterday afternoon – one day after the Department of Justice told the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that it should affirm a district court decision that struck down the entire ACA.
Among other areas, the bill would:
· Expand eligibility for and provide more generous tax credits for individuals to purchase health insurance on the exchanges.
· Support federal and state efforts aimed at enrolling more people in insurance coverage under the ACA.
· Set up reinsurance programs.
· Support states that want to set up their own insurance marketplace.
· Reverse the administration's actions to expand association health plans and short-term health plans.
· Curtail the administration's efforts to give states waivers to undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions and weaken standards for essential health benefits.
In a statement, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said, "Among the many policies in the bill we support are protecting coverage of pre-existing conditions and essential health benefits, fully funding efforts to educate consumers about their coverage options, and protecting consumers from 'health plans' that do not constitute true insurance, including short-term, limited-duration policies.”
