Rape no pre-existing condition in GOP bill

Given social media, report unavoidable but false

One of the viral claims about the American Health Care Act, the new Republican bill to replace the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare), was that the AHCA “made being rape survivor a pre-existing condition,” or that it “classified rape as a pre-existing condition.”

It was unavoidable on social media, retweeted and reposted ad infinitum among advocates of reproductive rights and other critics of the GOP bill, which the House narrowly passed Thursday. To make matters worse, some media outlets ran with it.

Yet the reality is very complicated, and a highly unlikely cascade of changes in federal and state law need to happen before a woman is denied insurance solely because she was raped or sexually assaulted. Let’s dig in.

First, an important note about pre-existing conditions under the AHCA.

The revised GOP plan included an amendment crafted by Rep. TomMcArthur, R-N.J., which helped the plan attract votes that led to its passage. The amendment allowed states to seekwaivers froma “continuous coverage” provision that otherwise would boost insurance rates by 30 percent for one year if a person has a lapse in insurance coverage for more than two months.

Instead, if the state met certain conditions, insurance companies for one year could consider a person’s health status when writing policies in the individual market. Another possible waiver would allow the state to replace a federal essential benefits package with a more narrowly tailored package of benefits, limited to the individual and small-group markets.

These changes would affect a specific group of people who meet the following criteria: Lives in a state that seeks this waiver; has a lapse in health coverage for longer than 63 days; has a pre-existing condition; and purchases insurance on the individual or small-group market.

A person who fell into this categorywould face insurance rates that could be based on their individual condition, for one year. (States that seek a waiver would need to provideways to help make up the difference in costs.) After that, people would qualify for prices at the community rate, rather than based on their individual conditions.

Advocates and media reports highlighted individual stories of survivors of sexual assault or rape claiming they were denied coverage because of conditions relating to the abuse.

One prominent example is Christina Turner, former insurance underwriterwho was prescribed anti-AIDS medicine as a precaution af- ter shewas sexually assaulted. Turner, then 45 years old, was quoted in news reports in October 2009 saying shewas unable to obtain insurance coverage because insurers told her that the HIV medication raised too many health concerns. Recent media coverage all linked back to one Huffington Post article, even though health coverage has changed since then.

The AHCA does not specifically address or classify rape or sexual assault as a pre-existing condition.

The AHCA does specifically address states’ abilities toget awaiver sothat “health status” isnolonger protected fromunderwriting.