04.28.2016 / Press Release

Ryan Announces Plan to Allow Insurers to Deny Health Coverage for those with Pre-Existing Conditions

Washington, D.C. – Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Wednesday called for an end to the Affordable Care Act’s ban on insurance companies’ practices of denying health coverage and charging discriminatory premiums for people with pre-existing health conditions. Instead, according to Ryan, these consumers should be placed in separate high-risk pools run by the states. Following is the statement of Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack on Ryan’s proposal:

“This outlandish proposal gives us an advance peek at what a Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act will look like – and it is both ugly and cruel.

“High-risk pools have been tried in the past, and they are both prohibitively expensive and offer substandard coverage. And make no mistake about it: Many people who are healthy now may, in the future, contract an expensive condition, like cancer, and suddenly find their insurer is terminating their coverage, forcing them into high-risk pools with coverage that will vary from state to state. On top of all that, these pools will be funded by with very expensive state and federal taxpayer dollars.

“This throwback proposal would be a great victory for the insurance industry and those who place corporate interests above consumer interests, but it is a horrible deal for millions upon millions of Americans who will be shut out of needed, affordable care.”