WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced that $1,100,000 was awarded to the Ohio Department of Insurance to help establish Ohio’s consumer assistance program. These Consumer Assistance grants, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are made available through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
“Ohio health care consumers deserve to know which health insurance policy best fits their needs and they deserve to have an efficient appeals and compliant process in the event they are treated unfairly,” Brown said. “These funds will help keep Ohioans informed and aware of health insurance options available to them, assist consumers in enrolling in health plans, and develop a fair complaints and appeals process.”
According to HHS, these grants will build on other programs and initiatives recently announced by HHS to help consumers make decisions about their care, including www.HealthCare.gov, where consumers already can find health insurance options customized to their needs and location as well as other information about their benefits and rights under the PPACA. State consumer assistance programs also will help consumers act on their new right to appeal if their insurance plan denies them coverage.
Specifically, these funds will help Ohio:
Many key reforms of the PPACA began to take effect in September, including an end to coverage denials for children with pre-existing conditions, a ban on arbitrary coverage rescissions, and a ban on lifetime coverage limits – critical to individuals with expensive illnesses such as cancer. Even more consumer protection reforms take place in 2014, including no pre-existing condition exclusions for anyone (regardless of age), no gender discrimination in premiums, no annual limits, protections for patients enrolled in clinical trials, and strict limitations on how much an insurer can vary their prices based on age.
###