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NEWS |
Senate Health Plan Legislation Opposed by ACS
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A letter-writing blitzkrieg has, for the time being, halted the momentum of a U.S. Senate move to create national rules for health insurers that could change access to some patient protections, including state-mandated cancer screening.
The opposition campaign, launched in May by the American Cancer Society, along with the AARP and the American Diabetes Association, raised public concern about the legislation, which would allow associations and other small business insurers to create their own health plans. These multistate plans, called association health plans (AHPs), could then circumvent a myriad of state regulations, including health benefit mandates.
The 2-week campaign generated more than 170,000 e-mails and 9,000 telephone calls to lawmakers, which may have helped stop an effort to rapidly push the AHP measure through the Senate, said Daniel Smith, vice president of federal and state government affairs for the ACS.
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"People did not fully recognize, going into
Associations Want Insurance
Health Groups Fight Back
Back for Another Round