
- “Some of the people who can’t afford to pay premiums need, and can find, a little help, are forbidden to get it by the fine print in their policies that say they must use their own funds, and accept no outside help. Meanwhile, the American Kidney Fund helps more than 70,000 patients a year with their premiums because dialysis on Medicaid is more onerous than dialysis on private care. Further, if you’ve been paying private health premiums for decades, shouldn’t you have the benefits of private health care? “Those who are affected by these policies are disproportionately black and brown. African Americans represent 13 percent of the US population, but 32 percent of those with kidney failure. The rate of kidney failure among Latinos has increased by an astounding 70 percent since 2000, and Latinos are 1.5 times as likely as whites to be diagnosed with kidney failure. While insurers may say they don’t intentionally discriminate, the adverse outcomes are undeniable.”
- “We’ve been down this road before. Aetna recently announced that it would become the latest insurer to pull of the ACA exchanges because they apparently weren’t making enough of a profit on the plans they offered. Meanwhile, the company as a whole raked in nearly $7 billion in profits last year - far above what even the most optimistic Wall Street analysts projected. And its CEO took home almost $28 million in take-home pay last year alone.”
- "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should not limit the ability of charitable groups to provide financial assistance for low-income patients who wish to enroll in private coverage. Indeed, CMS should applaud it! After all, if someone has paid private insurance premiums for years and now needs help to keep paying them, CMS should appreciate organizations like the American Kidney Fund, who are willing to stand in the gap for patients who are having challenges paying their premiums. "To oppose this help goes against the ACA promise all Americans - regardless of income or health status - can freely access the health exchanges to select a private insurance plan so long as they have not already enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid. This rejection of charitable assistance to patients seeking private health insurance is yet another tool insurers have been employing in their efforts to push away sick patients, and it’s unfathomable that it might soon be supported by CMS policy."