Motorcycles and Healthcare

[cwyss]

Hello All,

I'm not sure how many of you are AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) members, but those of you who are can check out a good article in this month's "American Motorcyclist" magazine called Painful Lesson (pg.24 of Aug. edition).  For those of you that are not members, you can still take action.

The AMA worked for years to get a bill passed to protect Motorcyclist, as well as participants of other activities, against Health Care Insurance discrimination.  Unfortunately the federal enforcement agencies allowed for a large loop-hole in this bill to be exploited.  Basically your Health Care Coverage can be denied, if you were participating in any activity that your Health Care Insurance Company decides is "dangerous."  The definition of "dangerous" has been completely left up to the Health Care Insurance providers to define.  This is just flat out scary.  You could be in an accident, and you provider could just deny you coverage on a whim.

There is a bill going through congress as I write this that will help to correct the oversight.  You can voice your opinion about this bill to your representative lawmakers.  The bills are S. 423 and H.R. 1749.  An easy way to do this is by going to the AMA website (http://www.amadirectlink.com), and clicking on the "AMA Rapid Response Center" on the upper left side of the page.  Once there, find the Action Alert with the subject of "SENATE AND HOUSE INTRODUCE HEALTH INSURANCE BILL."  From there you will be able to supply your zip code and contact your representatives.  You have the choice of sending an email or a printed letter.  I believe the best response would be received from the printed letter, but email would be better than nothing.

I hope that many of you will take a couple of minutes, and contact your representatives.

Thanks

Chad Wyss

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Didnt this get passed a couple years ago, but there was some legal problems that got it overturned?

[tzracer]

1996 theHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was passed. It is still in effect.

However.....

the rules for implimenting the law, took away the intent of the law. Quote from the AMA article :

"Those rules, which remain in effect today, say that employers can't refuse health-care coverage to employees on the basis of their participation in legal recreational activities. But then they note that employers are free to deny benefits for injuries sustained in connection with those recreational activities"

[Jeff]

Which again is why vagueness rules...

"I fell down"
"I slipped in the wet grass"
"I was chasing this guy when I lost my balance"
"fell off my bike"
"biking accident"
"golfing related injury"

[cwyss]

These are all thoughts that have passed through my mind as well, but someone has gone to the trouble of writing up a bill to correct the situation.  Why not see if will can light a fire under someone's a$$ and see, if we can get them to actually pass the thing.

Which again is why vagueness rules...

"I fell down"
"I slipped in the wet grass"
"I was chasing this guy when I lost my balance"
"fell off my bike"
"biking accident"
"golfing related injury"