Posted by Mike Bradley on February 07, 2001 at 20:35:58:
In Reply to: Health Insurance for Bike Riders in Danger! posted by Mike Bradley on February 07, 2001 at 01:45:34:
Here's more info. In 1996, Congress passed legislation protecting employees from discrimination in employer-provided health insurance. Among other things, the legislation prohibited employers from denying health coverage based on participation in legal recreational activities.
The proposed regulations to implement the legislation use sleight-of-hand language to do the exact opposite. While you can't be denied overall coverage for participating in a legal activity, you can be denied coverage for injuries sustained in it. Say you ride a motorcycle. You can be covered for breaking a leg while falling down the stairs in your home but not for breaking a leg in a bike accident. Even though motorcycle riding is legal, licensed and controlled by government.
"To say that an employer can't deny health-care coverage to motorcyclists but can deny coverage of any injury related to motorcycling makes this entire law meaningless," said Ed Moreland, VP for Government Relations of the American Motorcyclist Association. "Instead of creating a law specifically ending health-care discrimination, as Congress intended, these agencies have legalized discrimination.
"These rules open the door to the elimination of health coverage for all types of legal recreational activities, from motorcycle riding to running or walking. That's the exact opposite of what Congress had in mind."
More info:
http://www.ama-cycle.org/index.asp
http://www.dol.gov/dol/pwba/public/pubs/faqs.htm
What to Do:
The best way to send your objections is to write to HIPAA702@pwba.dol.gov and cc your Congressional legislators (http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html and http://www.senate.gov/senators/index.cfm). Tell them that the new regulations are unacceptable. They directly contradict Congress's intent and open the door to widespread discrimination and rate boosts in health insurance.