More Than $9,200 for Diabetes Care: Many with Preexisting Conditions Face Big Cost Increases Under Republican Bill
Allowing insurance companies to exclude preexisting conditions from health insurance coverage could cost consumers with illnesses like asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure thousands of dollars in increased out-of-pocket costs, according to a report out today from the Commonwealth Fund.
Coverage for preexisting health conditions, which is guaranteed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is currently threatened by the Texas v. Azar lawsuit. Although a Republican-backed Senate bill, the Ensuring Coverage for Patients with Pre-Existing Conditions Act, seeks to ensure that people with preexisting conditions could still buy health insurance, it doesn’t require that plans cover treatment for the conditions themselves.
The new report, by Sherry Glied and Adlan Jackson of New York University, details how consumers would fare under the proposed legislation compared to coverage under the ACA. It finds that annual out-of-pocket spending would increase for five of the most common preexisting conditions, with some cancer and diabetes patients seeing their costs triple. For certain individuals, annual out-of-pocket totals could exceed $4,900 for cancer treatment and $9,200 for diabetes care.
Woman with preexisting condition gets a scan_1x1 Read the report More Than $9,200 for Diabetes Care: Many with Preexisting Conditions Face Big Cost Increases Under Republican Bill