A bunch of new measures associated with what I think of as the health care reform law, but is actually officially the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act took effect this week. While it’s worth following from simply the perspective of a consumer of health care and health insurance, it’s also interesting to watch the unexpected (at least to me) consequences unfold.
The LA Times was where I first saw an article about insurance companies eliminating new insurance plans issued for children only because they don’t want to cover pre-existing conditions in these types of policies. It sounded really dramatic, but apparently it’s not as draconian as it sounds. The article says kids on family plans and children insured through a parent’s employer are not included in this ban. Experts cited in the piece estimate it will impact about 500,000 children nationwide. The US Census bureau puts the number of children under 19 in the US at north of 78MM. So this change would impact a little more than a half a percent of US kids.
It’s not clear to me who would purchase a child-only. I guess it’s an option for parents who can’t afford or can’t get insurance for themselves, but want their kids to have it. The insurance company spokespeople in the article indicated the worry is parents will only purchase these policies when their kids get sick now that the pre-existing conditions are eliminated. As a former insurance company spokesperson myself I can identify with that concern. Interestingly, my son has such a policy (with his pre-existing conditions excluded) that the insurance company insisted was my only option for coverage for him rather than family coverage. Less than 1-percent of kids nationwide are impacted by this and my son is one of them. Rats. Well, I guess I’ll learn more about this particular topic first hand.
In the meantime, I found this graphic on the implementation of the new law that I think is worth sharing. For something this complicated I'm not too proud to admit I appreciate a visual aid. (In the interest of full disclosure: Using graphics as a means to understanding complexity is a pre-existing condition for me.)
