• Health
  • Science
  • U.S.
  • Technology
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Sports

Building a Better World

News and information

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Our Team

ACA insurers in Louisiana reject AIDS patients

February 20, 2014 By Contributor

ACA insurers in Louisiana reject AIDS patients

Obamacare faces a hurdle in Louisiana.

The only three insurance companies in Louisiana that sell healthcare policies throughout the state under the Affordable Care Act  are rejecting payments from a federal program intended to help low-income HIV patients.

For 23 years, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program has made grants to state, cities and non-profit organizations to help low-income people with HIV purchase health insurance.  Now, the Louisiana Health Cooperative, Vantage Health Plan, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana have made the decision to reject these payments.

The insurers told healthcare advocates that guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the lead Obamacare agency, prevented them from accepting third-party payments to pay for health insurance premiums for the new health plans.

That guidance, issued in November, was meant to prevent self-dealing or even fraud.  The worry is that some healthcare providers will steer people to specific health plans and offer to pay the premiums so they can make more money by billing the insurance company for those patients’ covered services.

Last week, CMS said the ban on third-party payments “does not apply” to those made on behalf of Obamacare enrollees by “state and federal government programs or grantees (such as the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program).”

Lambda Legal, a non-profit group, filed an administrative complaint with the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CMS’s parent agency, against Louisiana Blue, Vantage and Louisiana Health Cooperative, arguing that their refusal to accept Ryan White payments flouted a key provision of the ACA, namely its requirement that insurers accept any customer regardless of health status.

Lambda is considering amending its complaint to include the other insurers who reject third-party payments.

“What we’re seeing in Louisiana is a crisis for low-income people with AIDS,” said Susan Sommer, director of constitutional litigation for Lambda Legal. “These are exactly the people the Affordable Care Act was designed to provide a safety net for.”

 

Sharing

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Filed Under: Front Page, Health, None, Politics

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

Facebookrss

Search:

Recent Posts

  • NASA’s InSight spacecraft makes important course correction May 26, 2018
  • Scientists outraged at latest Trump decision May 15, 2018
  • Huge uproar erupts over major incident at Utah park May 13, 2018
  • Incredible moon discovery stuns scientists May 12, 2018
  • Authorities shocked by discovery about common painkiller May 6, 2018
  • Outrageous crocodile experiment stuns scientists May 5, 2018
  • Great Barrier Reef is too quiet, scientists say May 1, 2018
  • Massive Hiroshima bomb discovery shocks scientists May 1, 2018
  • Earth will be slammed by massive asteroid April 29, 2018
  • Teens are doing something incredibly alarming in schools April 29, 2018
  • Huge discovery in Tasmania stuns scientists April 28, 2018
  • Shocking discovery in New Jersey stuns authorities April 22, 2018
  • Huge volcanic explosion could wipe out the United States April 21, 2018
  • Huge controversy erupts over world’s hottest pepper April 15, 2018
  • SpaceX is about to do something astonishing April 15, 2018

Copyright © 2022 Jones Kilmartin Group, LLC · Metro Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress