I have tried to figure out which pre-existing conditions they are lobbying to cover.
Pre-ex already cannot be excluded so long as there is not a significant break (63 days or longer) in coverage, per HIPPA. This whole pre-ex idea was one of the tauted benefits of HIPPA, in addition to the privacy components of the law.
They are lobbying to cover any and all preexisting because if you’re noncovered for more than 63 days HIPAA doesn’t cover it. Also, if your company is self-insured the HIPAA portability clause doesn’t apply. Only fully insured plans are subject to that part of HIPAA.
Under HIPAA, a plan is allowed to look back only 6 months for a condition that was present before the start of coverage in a group health plan. Specifically, the law says that a preexisting condition exclusion can be imposed on a condition only if medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment was recommended or received during the 6 months prior to your enrollment date in the plan. As an example, you may have had arthritis for many years before you came to your current job. If you did not have medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment – recommended or received – in the 6 months before you enrolled in the plan, then the prior condition cannot be subject to a preexisting condition exclusion. If you did receive medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment within the past 6 months, then the plan may impose a preexisting condition exclusion for that condition (arthritis). In addition, HIPAA prohibits plans from applying a preexisting condition exclusion to pregnancy, genetic information, and certain children.http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_hipaa.html