Rand Paul, MD, the Kentucky GOP candidate for senator known for speaking his mind, has come out against a popular provision of the healthcare reform law that will bar insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, according to a report by the Hill.
Dr. Paul, an ophthalmologist, said the provision goes against a basic premise of buying insurance. "Right now I buy insurance — and I'm healthy — but I buy it in case I might get sick," he said during a debate. "If you tell me I can get it for the same price after I'm sick, why do I buy it?"
"If you give perverse incentives to customers to say, 'Why buy insurance?' then what happens is healthy people drop out, and the system becomes more burdened with sick people," he added. "It's really destroying a marketplace."
He did not mention the law actually requires citizens to have insurance of face a penalty. However, the mandate to buy insurance is unpopular with most Americans and 20 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against it.
Read the Hill report on health reform.
Read more coverage on preexisting conditions:
- Citing Pre-Existing Conditions, Large Health Insurers Denied Coverage to 651,000 Applicants in Individual Market
Dr. Paul, an ophthalmologist, said the provision goes against a basic premise of buying insurance. "Right now I buy insurance — and I'm healthy — but I buy it in case I might get sick," he said during a debate. "If you tell me I can get it for the same price after I'm sick, why do I buy it?"
"If you give perverse incentives to customers to say, 'Why buy insurance?' then what happens is healthy people drop out, and the system becomes more burdened with sick people," he added. "It's really destroying a marketplace."
He did not mention the law actually requires citizens to have insurance of face a penalty. However, the mandate to buy insurance is unpopular with most Americans and 20 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against it.
Read the Hill report on health reform.
Read more coverage on preexisting conditions:
- Citing Pre-Existing Conditions, Large Health Insurers Denied Coverage to 651,000 Applicants in Individual Market