On Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to the insurance trade group America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) stating that she will issue new regulations to fix the supposed loophole in the health reform legislation that would allow children with pre-existing medical conditions to be denied new insurance policies, reports The Hill. With some media reports indicating that insurance companies might try to "avoid or ignore" the provision in the law that prevents insurers from excluding children with pre-existing conditions, Sebelius wrote that she is "preparing to issue regulations in the weeks ahead ensuring that the term 'pre-existing condition exclusion' applies to both a child's access to a plan and to his or her benefits once he or she is in the plan."
AHIP President Karen Ignagni didn't quibble in her reply. Insurers plan to "fully comply" with the new regulations when issued by Sebelius, according to an Associated Press report in the San Francisco Chronicle.
To learn more about the insurance gap situation:
- read this article on The Hill
- check out the San Francisco Chronicle article