The Ensuring Coverage for Patients with Pre-Existing Conditions Act, introduced on Aug. 23 by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), is supported by 10 Republican senators who want to guarantee Americans receive ongoing health coverage regardless of their conditions.
“There are strong opinions on both sides when it comes to how we should overhaul our nation’s broken health care system, but the one thing we can all agree on is that we should protect health care for Americans with pre-existing conditions and ensure they have access to good coverage,” Sen. Tillis said.
Original cosponsors of S. 3388 include U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dean Heller (R-NV), and Roger Wicker (R-MS). U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) also signed on as a cosponsor of S. 3388, which would amend the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
As the main sponsor of S. 3388, Sen. Tillis called the bill “a common-sense solution” to providing specific health care coverage, “regardless of how our judicial system rules on the future of Obamacare.”
Sen. Tillis was referring to litigation over the individual mandate known as Texas v. United States in which 20 Republican state attorneys general and two individual plaintiffs challenge the constitutionality of both the individual mandate and the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.
On June 7, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a brief declining to defend the constitutionality of the individual mandate alongside the ACA’s guaranteed issue and community rating protections provisions, according to Health Affairs, a health policy, peer-reviewed journal founded by the nonprofit international health education organization Project HOPE.
Health Affairs noted that the two ACA provisions provide consumer protections for individuals with preexisting conditions who can’t be charged more for their coverage or denied coverage based on their health status or other factors.
Oral arguments in the case are slated for Sept. 5. But regardless of the outcome, Sen. Tillis and his colleagues contend that S. 3388 would prohibit discrimination against beneficiaries based on their health status.
“Don’t let there be any confusion about it — Americans with pre-existing conditions are going to have protections against being denied coverage or charged more for their condition,” Sen. Alexander said.
The senator also said he looks forward to finding additional ways to expand insurance options for patients with pre-existing conditions, such as through a new U.S. Department of Labor rule “that will make lower-cost employer insurance with patient protections available to the self-employed and more employees of small businesses.”
“Nevadans and Americans throughout the country with pre-existing conditions should be protected – period,” added Sen. Heller. “This legislation will make sure that Nevada’s most vulnerable have access to coverage, and I’m proud to join my colleagues to introduce it.”
Sen. Cassidy, a medical doctor who previously cared for patients in the Louisiana charity hospital system for more than 25 years, said this issue has impacted many of these patients. “That’s why I’m so committed to protecting people with pre-existing conditions, and this bill keeps that promise,” he said.
S. 3388 has been referred to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee for consideration.