U.S. health plan elevates anxiety
Many citizens are wary of what bill means to those with pre-existing conditions
As Republicans move closer to dismantling Democrat Barack Obama’s health care law, Americans with serious illnesses are feeling uneasy.
The GOP health care bill pushed through the House on Thursday leaves those with pre-existing conditions fearful of higher premiums and losing coverage altogether if the Affordable Care Act is replaced.
The bill sets aside billions of dollars more to help people afford coverage, but experts say that money is unlikely to guarantee an affordable alternative for people now covered under a popular provision of the existing law that prevents insurers from rejecting them or charging higher rates based on their health.
Several people unsettled by the prospects expressed their concerns. Former Utah chef Jake Martinez is worried about getting health insurance in the future because he has epilepsy, considered a pre-existing condition by insurers.
He, his wife and their three children have been using health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. But the Murray, Utah, residents are worried about what may happen with this new health care bill.
“Today, it really kind of sunk in that not only are we not going to potentially have health care coverage, but that it was done as a political win rather than a well-thought-out plan,” said Martinez, a 32-year-old former chef who’s studying social work. “That’s what stings about it.” Kentucky attorney After being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Amanda Perkins learned of the perils of pre-existing conditions when she starting trying to buy health insurance. She worries protections under the Affordable Care Act that ensured certain essential health benefits, such as insulin prescriptions, could be eliminated. The GOP plan would let some states allow insurers to charge higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions, but only if those people had a lapse in insurance coverage. Supporters say those states would need to have programs to help people pay for expensive treatments, including high-risk pools. But Perkins said Kentucky’s previous high-risk pool had a 12-month waiting period and was too expensive. Kansas graphic designer Janella Williams has a rare neurological disorder that requires her to receive expensive IV drugs every seven weeks. Without it, she would not be able to walk.
Williams, who owns a graphicdesign company in Lawrence, Kansas, pays about $655 under an Obamacare plan. It keeps her out-ofpocket maximum at $4,778 a year and provides her with coverage despite her pre-existing condition.
“I’m terrified of becoming disabled. . . . I’ve thought of ending my life if it comes to that,” she said.
High-risk pools run by the state are not the answer, she says. The GOP plan would also resurrect lifetime caps on coverage, which Williams says she would reach after her first IV treatment.
“I have really lost my faith in humanity,” she said.