Discrimination by Insurers Likely Even With Reform, Experts Say

Economic Pressure Could Give Rise to New Biases Against Prior Conditions
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/03/AR2009100302483.html?hpid=topnews

Any health-care overhaul that Congress and President Obama enact is likely to have as its centerpiece a fundamental reform: Insurers would not be allowed to reject individuals or charge them higher premiums based on their medical history.

But simply banning medical discrimination would not necessarily remove it from the equation, economists and health-care analysts say.

If insurers are prohibited from openly rejecting people with preexisting conditions, they could try to cherry-pick through more subtle means. For example, offering free health club memberships tends to attract people who can use the equipment, says Paul Precht, director of policy at the Medicare Rights Center.

Being uncooperative on insurance claims can chase away the chronically ill. For people who have few medical bills, it is less of a factor, said Karen Pollitz, research professor at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute.

And to avoid patients with costly, complicated medical conditions, health plans could include in their networks relatively few doctors who specialize in treating those conditions, said Mark V. Pauly, professor of health-care management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

It will be Business As Usual. If you are over 50 or have a pre-existing condition, you will be screwed. This is all going to be written by the insurance lobbyists.