Obama seen as unnecessarily sniping insurance industry to promote healthcare reform.
July 30th, 2009 Roberts & RobertsThe Los Angeles Times (7/30) reports that in a town-hall meeting yesterday, President Obama announced his “Bill of Insurance Rights.” The president “outlined eight consumer protections that he expects to see included in the final healthcare overhaul produced by Congress.” These include prohibiting insurance companies from refusing coverage because of “medical history”; capping the “amount insurance companies could charge for out-of-pocket expenses”; requiring insurers to “fully cover” preventive care, such as “regular checkups and tests”; disallowing rescission practices, gender-based pricing, and “annual or lifetime caps on coverage”; and requiring insurance to provide “extended coverage for young adults” and “guaranteed insurance renewal” policies.
Notably, the Wall Street Journal (7/30, A4, Adamy) points out that the health insurance industry is facing “renewed fire” from the Obama Administration despite the fact that it “conceded months ago to key demands.” The Journal suggests the President “took aim at insurers” at the forum in Raleigh, N.C., “as a way of selling his health plan.”
