WSJ: AHIP Cries "Uncle" and HHS/Dems Win (updated) [View All]

[ProSense]

WSJ: AHIP Cries "Uncle" and HHS/Dems Win

by calchala

As to the recent uproar between AHIP and HHS, we have a winner, and the winner is HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Flap on Children's Pre-existing Conditions' letter settled

Looks like AHIP has decided to throw in the towel in regards to complying with the regulations saying they'll agree to the regulations.

Unfortunately the document is blocked by the Journal's "pay-for" section.

Here's what they released:

Insurers said they would comply with regulations the government issues requiring them to cover children with pre-existing conditions, after a dispute with lawmakers over interpretation of the new health-care legislation.

The Obama administration has made near-immediate coverage for sick children a priority in its health-care overhaul. But shortly after the bill's passage last week, insurers contended that the law didn't require them to accept sick children until 2014.

This is after HHS Secretary gave them a warning shot, that should they fail to comply with these regulations, they don't get access to that group of 40 million uninsured Americans.

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Updated to add:

In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the industry's top lobbyist said insurers will accept new regulations to dispel uncertainty over a much-publicized guarantee that children with medical problems can get coverage starting this year.

Quick resolution of the doubts was a win for Obama — and a sign that the industry has no stomach for another war of words with a president who deftly used double-digit rate hikes by the companies to revive his sweeping health care legislation from near collapse in Congress.

"Health plans recognize the significant hardship that a family faces when they are unable to obtain coverage for a child with a pre-existing condition," Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, said in a letter to Sebelius. Ignagni said that the industry will "fully comply" with the regulations, expected within weeks.

The industry's response followed a sternly worded letter from Sebelius earlier in the day. In it, the administration's top health care official tried to put an end to questions about the law's intent and wording.

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