Health Insurance Forum

Pre-existing conditions for Georgia health coverage

by mahir on 02/07/10 at 6:34 am

ATLANTA — An important reform of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act takes effect July 1 when Georgians who have been without health coverage for at least six months and who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing health conditions will be given access to affordable, quality coverage. They will receive it through a new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan  created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Last month, Families USA and Georgians for a Healthy Future co-released a report on the number of people in Georgia with pre-existing conditions. The report reveals that 1,850,000 Georgians under the age of 65 have a diagnosed pre-existing condition that could lead to a denial of coverage in the individual health insurance market.

The new Web site is the first to provide consumers and small businesses with information about private insurance, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare, and other coverage options in one place. Federal officials are emphasizing that the PCIP is not the long-term solution to the insurance industry’s practice of denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

Cindy Zeldin, executive director of the consumer health advocacy organization Georgians for a Healthy Future said, “Starting July 1st, Georgians with pre-existing health conditions who have been denied Georgia health insurance in the individual market will have a meaningful option for health coverage through the new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan.

As a result, these Georgia health care consumers who might have otherwise foregone needed care or incurred high levels of medical debt will now have the opportunity to purchase health insurance that facilitates access to care and that provides protection against the high financial burden associated with treating and managing health conditions such as cancer and diabetes.”