Organizations Urge Congress to Ground Discussions of the Cost of Health Inusrance in the Lived Experience of Patients and Families

Our members and the people we represent power our work.

In 2017, our patient and consumer advocacy organizations began working together to advance our shared goals and the Partnership to Protect Coverage formed.
 

PPC advocates for health reforms which meet the following basic elements of meaningful coverage.
 

1: Health Insurance Must be Affordable

Affordable plans ensure patients have equitable access to needed care in a timely manner from an experienced provider without undue financial burden. Affordable coverage includes reasonable premiums and cost sharing (such as deductibles, copays and coinsurance) and limits on out-of-pocket expenses. Adequate financial assistance must be available for people with low incomes and individuals with preexisting conditions should not be subject to increased premium costs based on their disease or health status.
 

2: Health Insurance Must be Accessible

All people, regardless of socioeconomic status, should be able to gain coverage without waiting periods through adequate open and special enrollment periods. Patient protections in current law should be retained, including prohibitions on preexisting condition exclusions, annual and lifetime limits, insurance policy rescissions, gender pricing and excessive premiums for older adults. Children should be allowed to remain on their parents’ health plans until age 26 and coverage through Medicare and Medicaid should not be jeopardized through excessive cost-shifting, funding cuts, or per capita caps or block granting.

 

3: Health Insurance Must be Adequate and Understandable

All plans should be required to cover a full range of needed health benefits with a comprehensive and stable network of providers and plan features. Guaranteed access to and prioritization of preventive services without cost-sharing should be preserved. Information regarding costs and coverage must be available, transparent, and understandable to the consumer in a culturally competent manner prior to purchasing the plan.”