Insurers Allowed to Raise Rates for Children with Pre-Existing Conditions

In reaction to major health insurers leaving the children's insurance market, the Obama administration has somewhat softened its stance on requiring insurers to accept children with pre-existing conditions, according to a report by the New York Times.

In an interpretation of the healthcare reform law, HHS officials said insurers could charge higher premiums for children with pre-existing conditions outside open-enrollment periods, as long as state law allows it.

The reform law's ban on rejecting children with pre-existing conditions was implemented in September. Just before implementation, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, WellPoint, Cigna and several other major carriers announced they wouldn't sell new child-only policies because the ban would allow families to buy coverage at the last minute, when children were already ill.

Read the New York Times report on pre-existing conditions.

Read more coverage on pre-existing conditions:

- Three Insurers to Stop Offering New Children's Policies, Citing Reform Law

- Citing Pre-Existing Conditions, Large Health Insurers Denied Coverage to 651,000 Applicants in Individual Market

- 5 Ways Recent Insurance Changes Will Affect Medical Staffing


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