Ah, the power of investigative journalism. Following last week's Reuter's story by Murray Waas on WellPoint's practice of targeting breast cancer patients for rescission, both WellPoint and UnitedHealthcare announced they would implement reforms immediately, instead of waiting until the new law kicks in.
Following that story, the administration and Congressional leaders immediate contacted WellPoint's CEO to urge her to end the practice. Committee and Subcommittee Chairs from the House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor sent a letter to the CEOs of the seven major insurance companies, "urging them to end rescissions and institute independent third-party review." Yesterday afternoon, the industry as a whole agreed to do the same, according to a letter from AHIP's Karen Ignani to top House Democrats.
The health insurance industry has decided to end its practice of cancelling claims once a patient gets sick next month, well before the new health care law would have required it, the industry’s chief spokesman said Wednesday.
"While many health plans already abide by the standards outlined in the new law, our community is committed to implementing the new standards in May 2010 to ensure that individuals and families will have greater peace of mind when purchasing coverage on their own," AHIP president and chief executive Karen Ignagni said in a letter to top House Democrats....
Congressional Democrats and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had pressured companies to end the practice early. The overhaul plan will ban the practice in September, except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation, and subject it to a third party review.
White House health reform czar Nancy-Ann DeParle said the administration will be watching to ensure the industry does indeed institute the ban.
This is excellent news all around. What it shows as much as anything is that public exposure of bad practices and strong pressure from government works. Now that insurance reform has passed, the industry has to be aware that further legislation is a definite possibility. The publicity, though, is key. It's an important component for public education and increases the likelihood that if insurers keep up the practices, their patients will blow the whistle.