The health insurance companies WellPoint, Inc. of Indianapolis and UnitedHealthcare Inc. (UHC) of Minneapolis have announced that they will end limited use of individual market rescission ahead of the September 2010 date when federal health care reform legislation takes effect.

WellPoint says it welcomes greater uniformity among insurers in this area. "Our goal is to make reform work for our members and for the country," said Angela Braly, Chief Executive Officer of WellPoint, in a press release. "There have been a lot of misrepresentations and inaccuracies in recent days that have caused confusion among our members and among the public generally about our policies in this area. We think today's announcement will go a long way toward bringing greater clarity."

"In the spirit of the recently passed health reform legislation, UnitedHealthcare moved quickly to eliminate the practice of rescission, except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of material fact," said Gail Boudreaux, president of UnitedHealthcare, in a press release. "We continue to find ways to ensure that the new health care reform law can be implemented effectively for the benefit of all Americans and achieve broader access to quality health care."

Both companies also recently announced that they would implement continuation of coverage for young adults under parents' policies. (See DM 12388.)

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted WellPoint and UHC's actions, and continued to encourage other insurers to do the "right thing."

"The days when insurers can drop coverage when patients get sick are coming to an end but insurers don't need to wait to do the right thing," Secretary Sebelius stated. "Americans need to be secure in knowing that their health coverage will be there when they need it most. That is why we are working hard to get the benefits of the Affordable Care Act to families everywhere as quickly as possible."

Adapted in part from press releases from WellPoint, UHC and Secretary Sebelius.

Links:
WellPoint: http://www.wellpoint.com/pdf/releaes_04262010.pdf

UHC: http://www.uhc.com/news_room/2010_news_release_archive/unitedhealthcare_initiated_rescission_reform.htm

Secretary Sebelius: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/04/20100428a.html

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