Lawmakers hope to scale back the powers of health insurance companies to deny coverage.
State Representative Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) says if people pay for health insurance coverage, they should get it.
"There are too many people in Wisconsin right now who do all the right things. They get insurance, they faithfully pay their premiums and then when they need the insurance most they're excluded because of a preexisting condition."
Richards, chair of the Assembly Health Committee, says when determining insurance coverage, his proposal states that insurance companies can only look back one year in a client's medical history for a preexisting condition. Also, he defines a preexisting condition as something that has been treated, or at least discussed with a doctor.
There are some concerns about the bill's social and fiscal impact. Senator Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma), who sponsored similar legislation in the Senate, says this measure would not change Wisconsin statute in a way that is different from what many other states are doing.
"These are changes that have been done in many, many other states. The preexisting condition change — limiting it to 12 months has been done in 29 other states, the look-back change has been done in 25 other states, the objective standard change has been done in 18 other states."
Proposed legislation also offers consumers more options when trying to fight a denial of coverage.
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report (1:19 MP3)
