End Insurance Discrimination for Cancer Survivors
For too many cancer survivors, fighting cancer is just one of the battles ahead. Having had cancer may mark them as having a “pre-existing condition” that creates tremendous barriers to finding health insurance coverage in the future.
Under current law, when a child or adult is not covered by insurance for 63 days or more, insurers may enforce special exclusions, such as waiting periods, limited coverage, higher premiums, or even refusal to cover them at all. As a result, cancer survivors must stay in jobs just for the insurance, submit to more expensive plans, or go without. Such discrimination is unacceptable!
The Pre-existing Condition Exclusion Patient Protection Act of 2009 (HR 1558/S. 623) eliminates pre-existing condition exclusions and waiting periods for all individuals, regardless of age or insurance type, thus allowing access to necessary healthcare services at a critical time for patients. There are now 12 million Americans living with a history of cancer and with improvements in treatment, and that number will grow. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, approximately 133 million Americans, or 45 percent of the population, have at least one chronic disease. All of these individuals are at risk of facing health insurance discrimination due to their health history.
