But What's the Hammer?
The 2,074 pages of the Senate Patient Protection Affordable Care Act ("Senate Health Care Bill") produce a lot of confusion among other things. The confusion comes not simply from the staggering length of the bill. The confusion comes principally because the Senate Health Care Bill contains amendments and adds new provisions to other Federal Statutes, such as the Public Health Service Act.
Section 1201 of the Senate Health Care Bill contains amendments to the Public Health Service Act. One amendment is to enact Section 2704 of the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a "group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage" to include a Preexisting Condition Exclusion "with respect to such plan or coverage." [Emphasis added.] Download Senate patient protection affordable care act, at 78.
Section 1201 of the Senate Health Care Bill also enacts Section 2701 of the Public Health Service Act. The new Section 2701 would introduce Federal regulation of Premiums for affected Health Insurance Coverage. Premiums for the Health Insurance Coverage addressed by Section 2701 of the Public Health Service Act would be permitted to be based only on four (4) factors listed in subparagraph 2701(a)(1)A) in that statute:
(B) such rate shall not vary with respect to the particular plan or coverage involved by any other factor not described in subparagraph (A).
Download Senate patient protection affordable care act, at 80-81. [Emphasis added.]
These are two clear prohibitions in the Senate Health Care Bill. However, I have not yet found penalties that would be imposed if either or both of these prohibitions is or are violated.
I will not stop looking, and I invite readers to advise by their Comments if they find any penalties for violating these prohibitions, which are clearly among the headline leaders in popular reporting about the Senate Health Care Bill.
New provisions in the Senate Health Care Bill regarding eligibility and continued enrollment will be addressed here next. To be continued .....
Please Read The Disclaimer.
The frustration comes generally because the Us senate Health Care Bill contains amendments
Posted by: Health Insurance Brokers | December 19, 2011 at 02:11 AM