Moving Beyond Cancer in NOLA: Advocacy Request:Action Alert: Ask Your Senators to Sign-On to S.J. 63 to Protect Patients!

Action Alert: Ask Your Senators to Co-Sponsor S.J. 63

Dear Catherine,

In August, the Administration finalized a policy that will impact access to quality health insurance coverage by expanding the availability of short-term, limited duration (STLD) insurance plans that are not required to cover essential health benefits or pre-existing conditions. These plans are currently intended to fill the gap in insurance coverage temporarily for those that were between jobs, transitioning from school to the workforce, or other short term lapses in coverage of three months or less. Since the plans were intended to be temporary, they are not required to provide coverage for essential health benefits or for those with certain pre-existing conditions.

These plans:

Are able to exclude consumers based on pre-existing conditions
Can retroactively cancel policies and refuse to pay for care for a person with a condition that was not disclosed at the time of purchase, even if the individual did not know they had it or had not been previously diagnosed
Can charge higher premiums to older or less healthy people without limit
Undermine the insurance marketplace as they draw healthier people away and make comprehensive coverage more expensive for those with higher cost healthcare needs, or who are excluded from STLDs

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has introduced legislation to overturn the rule to protect Americans from these plans that could harm those impacted by cancer. Senator Baldwin will file the legislation to overturn the rule today, and a vote will be scheduled for tomorrow. 45 Senators have already signed on to the legislation.

Now is the time to reach out to your Senator and ask them to support this legislation to protect those impacted by cancer from inadequate and dangerous health insurance plans.

Take Action

Sincerely,