Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) announced that it too will continue to offer important health care insurance protections that were included in the 2010 health care reform law, no matter how the U.S. Supreme Court rules in the case pending before the Court. This makes Humana the second major health insurance provider to authenticate The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. The Republican party had made the act a centerpiece of the 2010 campaign for Congressional seats, falsely claiming, among other things that the PPACA was "socialized medicine."
It is not.
The announcement by Humana, authenticates the PPACA, or what the Republican Tea Partiers call Obamacare. The announcement was mildly surprising in view of the political conversation over the last two years. Humana is now also on board with Obamacare, obliterating the "socialized medicine" argument for good. In their announcement, the company vowed to keep in place many of the important elements of the PPACA. UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, announced recently that it too will continue to offer important health care insurance protections that were included in the 2010 health care reform law. On the political side, the endorsement of sorts by Humana and UnitedHealthcare, strengthens the political hand of President Barack Obama and will force presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney to back pedal on his position. Romney has stated he would "repeal and replace" Obamacare, but this makes that claim an impossible promise to keep.
With a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare on the horizon, Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) issued a press statement.
Humana has long said that all Americans deserve affordable, quality health care and that our nation needs a health care system that works for everyone. Regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the federal health care reform law, Humana is committed to keeping in place important patient protections contained in the law, including health care reform’s restrictions on lifetime limits, rescission standards, appeals and external review processes, coverage for dependents on family plans to age 26, and preventive services with no cost sharing.
Humana said that it believes its health plan members should have the peace of mind of knowing the company embraces and will maintain these common-sense provisions that add stability and security to health care coverage.
Specifically, Humana will maintain these health care reform provisions:
• Humana will not impose lifetime dollar limits on policies. Humana believes that health plan members should not have to worry that their coverage might run out when they need it most.(And Humana will charge you, or your employer, for it! -- Ed.)
• Humana will maintain the health care reform law’s rescission standard for its individual insurance policies. The company will not rescind (retroactively cancel) individual health insurance policies except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of material facts by an applicant for insurance. (And Humana will charge you, or your employer, for it! -- Ed.) Humana has long believed that when you buy an individual health plan, you should not have to worry that it might be canceled. Individuals whose policies are rescinded will continue to have available independent third party review of the rescission decision.
• Humana will continue to provide a clear and simple process for appealing claims decisions, as well as the option for health plan members to have their cases reviewed by independent review organizations. (This seems something that is obvious that any customer-friendly corporation should do. - Ed.) Humana believes in providing a clear, timely and accessible avenue for health plan members to appeal and resolve disagreements.
• Humana members will continue to receive important preventive care services with no out-of-pocket cost sharing. (And Humana will charge you, or your employer, for it! -- Ed.) Humana believes preventive care is a valuable investment in the health and well-being of its members.
• Humana will continue to permit dependent family members to remain covered on their parents’ policies up to age 26. (And Humana will charge you, or your employer, for it! -- Ed.) Humana has long believed in giving families the coverage options they need and deserve.
This is NOT Obamacare. This is about as close in magnitude to Obamacare as a small wave on Lake Michigan is to the Japanese Tsunami. Obviously Humana is in the business of selling health care, and if Obamacare doesn't force people to buy their product, well, they'll need to go back to selling it themselves. My question is that if there were marketing reasons for selling health care coverage with these features -- and Humana must have plenty of smart analysts working for it -- why didn't the company do this years, if not decades, ago????