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10/22/2005-UNITED
STATES
Senate introduces health
insurance bill for motorcyclists! Tell your US Senator you
want their support on this issue!
ACTION ALERT - WRITE NOW
***CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION WITH THE AMA's
ACTION ALERT SYSTEM***
U.S.
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) recently introduced S. 577,
"The HIPAA Recreational Injury Technical Correction
Act.” Last Congress, the full Senate unanimously passed
similar legislation.
S. 577 aims
at ending health care discrimination for individuals
participating in legal transportation and recreational
activities-activities like motorcycling, snowmobiling,
horseback riding, skiing and all-terrain vehicle riding.
This legislation addresses a loophole caused by a
Department of Health and Human Services' rule making it
possible for health care benefits to be denied to those
who are injured while participating in these activities.
“What
many people don't know until it's too late, is that
currently health insurance providers are legally permitted
to deny benefits for injuries sustained while
participating in certain recreational or transportation
activities such as motorcycling, snowmobiling, skiing, and
horseback riding,” said Collins. “This policy is
unfair, and I am working with my colleagues to change it.”
Collins was
joined by Senator Feingold (D-WI) in introducing the
Senate legislation.
"From
riding Harley Davidson motorcycles to visiting the
Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, these activities
are part of Wisconsin's heritage and economy,"
Feingold said. "It simply doesn't make sense to
exclude those participating in these activities from
health care benefits."
On August
21, 1996 an important opportunity arose when President
Clinton signed the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA), prohibiting employers from
denying health care coverage based on a worker’s
pre-existing medical conditions or participation in legal
activities.
In 2001,
the Health Care Finance Administration released the final
rules that would govern the law. The rules recognize that
employers cannot refuse health care coverage to an
employee on the basis of their participation in a
recognized recreational activity. However, the benefits
can be denied for injuries sustained in connection with
those activities. Essentially, the regulation grants equal
status to motorcyclists without any substantive benefits.
"Because
of this loophole, someone who participates in motorcycling
or snowmobiling could be denied health care coverage,
while someone who is injured while drinking and driving a
car would be protected," Senator Feingold said.
"It is time that Congress corrected this so that
those who are abiding by the law are not discriminated
against."
The AMA is
urging all motorcyclists to notify their Senators and tell
them to co-sponsor and support S.577, "The HIPAA
Recreational Injury Technical Correction Act."
CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION WITH THE AMA's
ACTION ALERT SYSTEM
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