As you know there are a number of proposals out relating to how some aspects of health insurance will change under the guidance from the new administration. This is, quite unfortunately, an area that has become highly politicized and I am hyper aware of that as I write this – I do not mean to imply that any of these proposals are good, bad or otherwise, they are simply a change from what the current rules are and many people may not be at dialed in on the potential for upcoming changes.
One of the common themes of the proposals offered by President Trump, Mr. Ryan, and the new head of Health and Human Service is the return of the preexisting conditions concept. Again this is subject to change, but at this time it is looking like a good bet.
The revived rule will almost certainly look back to a particular date to see if a person had health care coverage from that day forward, and if they do, then they can continue to buy insurance as normal (primarily drawn from Trump proposal). But if they don’t, some version of the preexisting condition rule will apply to them and, likely, their insurance will be more difficult to obtain or more expensive (common element of all 3). This is very important and could potentially impact that person or family for many years to come.
Of course, we have no idea what that look back date will be, but very likely it will be before the date that the formal legislation is proposed (i.e. too late to sign up then as it looks to status before that date).
Secure Short- And Long-Term Protection Today With Insurance Coverage
Today is the last day of open enrollment on healthcare.gov.
If you have a client, employee, friend, or family member that for whatever reason does not have health insurance, and they or a member of their family would have something classified as a preexisting condition, it may be very worth their while to consider purchasing health insurance. This includes anyone that may be on an alternative to health care, including many of the Christian health care sharing options that aren’t technically health insurance.
A preexisting condition is anything from a chronic illness, such as diabetes or cancer, to an injury from trauma plus a gap in health insurance coverage.
Why might it be a good idea? Because if the look back date on the revived policy is from 1/31/17 forward, they will be grandfathered out of the revived preexisting conditions rule (i.e. they can buy regular insurance as normal).