Legislative Updates

An update on healthcare reform


POSTED IN: Legislative Updates,

The revisions in the latest version, proposed by an amendment offered by Reps. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) and Mark Meadows (R-NC), would reinstate Essential Health Benefits as the “federal standard” and “maintain” several other patient protections, such as coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions, guaranteed issue and renewability, coverage of dependents on parents’ plan up to age 26, and community rating rules.

However, the amendment would create an option for the state to obtain a waiver that would allow states not to have to provide essential health benefits which includes emergency services. The process to qualify for a waiver is rather easy in that the state would only have to express interest in lowering costs, increasing the number of those covered, or advance another benefit to the public, in addition to the state establishing a high-risk pool.