Reduced Costs for People with Pre-Existing Med Conditions

From the NRCA Capitol Insider-- The Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS) announced that it would be reducing premium rates for uninsured people with pre-existing medical conditions to join temporary high risk pools.

HHS will lower premiums by about 20 percent in 2011 for the 23 states participating in the federal government run Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan and asked the states running their own programs to consider lowering their rates as well. The high risk pools are very important for people with disabilities who are frequently priced out of most private health insurance plans. The pools are intended to provide needed coverage until the health status non-discrimination provisions and the establishment of the health insurance exchanges take effect in 2014.

NRCA Announces New Medicare Draft

From the National Rehabilitation Counseling Association:
The three House committees with jurisdiction over health care—the House Ways & Means Committee, the House Energy & Commerce Committee, and the House Education & Labor Committee—have released draft health care reform legislation, including provisions to update the Medicare program. Importantly, the draft legislation (known as the “Tri-Committee” draft) would establish Medicare coverage of licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists (blog author's note: CRC's are not mentioned). The legislation makes significant changes to the way the current health insurance marketplace works in the U.S., with the goal of building on our current system to broaden coverage and constrain health care cost increases.

Information on the legislation, including the bill text and a summary, is on the House Education & Labor Committee’s website at http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/06/health-care-reform-house-dems.shtml