WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 28, 2010 – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) today filed comments with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the interim final rule regarding the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, which was created as part of the Affordable Care Act to offer lifesaving coverage to people in every state with pre-existing conditions who have been uninsured for six months or more.
ACS CAN’s comments build on a rule that on the whole is well-constructed, asking the Secretary to do everything she can to maintain adequacy and affordability of the safety net coverage program by preventing an increase in premiums and a decrease in benefits without proof program funding is in jeopardy; mandating that plans maintain a minimum actuarial value of 60 percent and that premiums not exceed the standard market rate; and permitting plans to seek additional funding from outside resources to stave off shifting the cost burden to consumers.
The new high-risk pool program will give access to health care to at least hundreds of thousands of uninsured people with cancer and other pre-existing conditions who previously could not get the care they need.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Havens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5772 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
