AGE DISCRIMINATION IN THE NEW HEALTH CARE BILL

I just read through portions of the bill and found an amazing feature. The insurance companies are not allowed to charge  higher premiums for preexisting conditions, but they are free to charge higher premiums based on age. The bill even says they can do it!  I've inserted that portion of the bill below. Whether you like it or dislike it as a law, it certainly will make the cost of health insurance much higher for those of us over 50 who pay for our own health insurance. That hardly seems to fit under the bill's section "Prohibiting Discrimanatory Premium Rates".  I would urge you to send an email to your congressman on the new Health Care Bill.  You can google your congressman and they will have an email contact listed on their site. Then just insert the the text at the bottom of this email that I have inserted.

‘‘SEC. 2701. FAIR HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS.
‘‘(a) PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATORY PREMIUM RATES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the premium rate
charged by a health insurance issuer for health insurance coverage
offered in the individual or small group market—
‘‘(A) such rate shall vary with respect to the particular
plan or coverage involved only by—
‘‘(i) whether such plan or coverage covers an individual
or family;
‘‘(ii) rating area, as established in accordance with
paragraph (2);
‘‘(iii) age, except that such rate shall not vary
by more than 3 to 1 for adults (consistent with section
2707(c)); and
‘‘(iv) tobacco use, except that such rate shall not
vary by more than 1.5 to 1; and


Dear Congressman,

I just finished reading through some key points of the actual Health Care bill. I found something that I find troublesome. The bill prohibits insurance companies from charging higher rates due to preexisting conditions. But the bill also clearly states that insurance companies can charge higher rates due to age. One doesn't need to think long to figure out the result of that provision. The insurance companies will charge older people an even more disproportionate amount than they do now. Not only because the bill allows them to continue to do so but because older people are also going to be the ones most likely to have preexisting conditions. So what does that mean for people over the age of 50? The income level where government subsidies begin is $22,000/yr(poverty level) and subsidies phase out at $88,000/yr(4 times the poverty level). So I expect that anyone over 50 that makes $66,000/yr or more and pays for their own insurance, will be forced to pay even higher insurance premiums than they are paying now. This is scandalous. As my congressman, I ask you to check into this issue and correct it.