It’s said that every cloud has a silver lining. The “reform” of health care is a far cry from the tort reform this country so desperately needs, but there is an up-side. Abusive insurance company practices are about to come to a grinding halt. In this one sense, the practice of medicine will return to its rightful place, between the doctor and the patient.
A good part of what precipitated the health care reform bill was just such abuses. People who were canceled for pre-existing conditions — even when those conditions didn’t represent a major cost to the health insurance company — finally have retribution. Starting in September, rescissions will no longer be allowed, except in the case of fraud. And if an insurer wants to claim fraud, it must provide the affected customer at least 30 days’ notice for time to appeal.
