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National Patient Advocate Foundation Applauds Senators Lautenberg and Brown and Representatives Schwartz and DeGette for Introduction of Legislation to Protect Health Care Coverage for Children

Posted on: Thursday, 19 March 2009, 10:05 CDT

Children's Health Protection Act Will End Pre-Existing Coverage Limitations for Children With Private Insurance, Safeguard Access to Care for Children With Chronic Illness

WASHINGTON, March 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF) - a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of creating avenues of improved patient access to health care through public policy reform at the state and federal levels - today praised Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Allyson Schwartz (D-PA-13) and Diana DeGette (D-CO-01) for introducing The Children's Health Protection Act to protect health coverage for children with chronic medical conditions. The Lautenberg- Schwartz legislation takes an important and very necessary step in protecting children unable to attain private health insurance coverage as a result of pre-existing medical conditions.

Approximately 20 percent of school-aged children suffer from a chronic illness which could preclude them from accessing insurance coverage. The Children's Health Protection Act would protect these children. It will also protect those among the almost nine million American children who are uninsured and need care for the treatment for pre-existing conditions. Children in America with chronic, disabling and life-threatening conditions often fall through the cracks because our current law prevents them from gaining health insurance coverage that delivers access to the medical care they so desperately need. However, a child's health should never be threatened due to a parent's selection of health insurance or an employer's decision to drop a family's coverage.

"Senators Lautenberg and Brown and Representatives Schwartz and DeGette have taken an important step in protecting chronically ill children at risk of having no health insurance by introducing this legislation, said Nancy Davenport-Ennis, Founder and CEO of NPAF. "NPAF is proud to work with these leaders in any way that we can to help ensure that this vital legislation is enacted and to ensure that children across the nation are protected."

NPAF and its companion organization, the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), were founded on the principle that health care is a basic human need and shared social responsibility. NPAF is dedicated to working with Congress and all levels of government to overcome challenges and create solutions that will allow for affordable, high-quality, and effective health care for all. PAF directly assists patients with chronic and life-threatening conditions who are struggling with access to care issues. Last year, PAF received more than 9.5 million contacts requesting information and provided complete case management mediation and arbitration services to 48,800 patients confronting access to health care for their diagnosis of chronic, life-threatening and debilitating conditions.

For more information see www.npaf.org.

SOURCE National Patient Advocate Foundation

Source: PR Newswire

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