Ending insurance abuses

More than half of all insurance plans used to include lifetime limits on coverage—so your insurance company could stop paying for your treatment when you need it the most. For example, your insurance company might cut you off after $1 million in treatment. If you had cancer and hit the limit during your second round of chemotherapy, you’d be on your own to figure out how to pay for the next treatment and the follow-up care you’d need to stay healthy.

The new law bans all lifetime caps on coverage.

Insurance companies could deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, from asthma to cancer.

Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children under 19 with pre-existing conditions, and adults with pre-existing conditions who haven’t found affordable insurance can now get coverage through the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Program.

This program serves as a bridge until 2014, when insurance companies won’t be able to turn anyone down or charge more due to a pre-existing condition.

Insurance companies used to spend as much as 40 percent of your premium on salaries, overhead, and other administrative costs, and they could raise your rates without warning or explanation.

Tough new rules make sure your insurance company can't waste your money or deny you care.

• 80/20: Your insurance company is now required to spend at least 80 percent of your premium on your health care—and if it doesn't, it owes you a rebate. Starting this summer, nearly 12.8 million Americans and 7.3 million families will receive rebate checks averaging $151 per household—adding up to more than $1.1 billion back in consumers' hands.
• Your insurance company has to publicly justify any rate hike of more than 10 percent to your state or federal rate review program.
• If your insurance company denies you payment for a treatment or service, you now have the right to appeal their decision to a third party.