FWIW:
This was sent on by a motorcycle enthusiast. It could equally
apply to LBC owners, vintage racers, etc. It has to do with
changing government regualations regarding the portability of
health insurance and denying health insurance by the companies
http://www.2wf.com/html/2001News/20010108AMANews.shtml
And here is more on the same subject:
***********************8
Here is some more on the health insurance deal.
=======================================
From: "Rev. Timothy W. Foreman" <timf@anansi-web.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 21:25:45 -0600
Subject: LDRider: Health Insurance Regs
I did some digging and found the actual regulations. They are as
advertised.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2001_register&docid=fr08ja01-23
(Sorry if the link is broken - you may have to reassemble it.)
Here are the relevent sections:
- ---
Evidence of insurability. Several commenters urged that the
health
factor ``evidence of insurability'' be interpreted to prohibit
plans
and issuers from denying coverage to individuals who engage in
certain
types of activities. Commenters cited language in the conference
report
that states, ``The inclusion of evidence of insurability in the
definition of health status is intended to ensure, among other
things,
that individuals are not excluded from health care coverage due
to
their participation in activities such as motorcycling,
snowmobiling,
all-terrain vehicle riding, horseback riding, skiing and other
similar
activities.'' H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 736, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 186
(1996). The interim regulations clarify that evidence of
insurability
includes participation in activities listed in the conference
report.
- ---
Source-of-injury restrictions. While a person cannot be
excluded
from a plan for engaging in certain recreational activities (see
previous discussion on evidence of insurability under the heading
``Health Factors''), benefits for a particular injury can, in
some
cases, be excluded based on the source of an injury. These plan
restrictions are known as source-of-injury restrictions.\6\ Under
these
interim regulations, if a plan or group health insurance coverage
generally provides benefits for a type of injury, the plan or
issuer
may not use a source-of-injury restriction to deny benefits
otherwise
provided for treatment of the injury if it results from an act of
domestic violence or a medical condition (including both physical
and
mental health conditions). An example in the interim regulations
clarifies that benefits for injuries generally covered under the
plan
cannot be excluded merely because they were self-inflicted or
were
sustained in connection with a suicide or attempted suicide if
the
injuries resulted from a medical condition such as depression.
Another
example illustrates that a plan can nonetheless exclude benefits
for
injuries because they were sustained in connection with various
recreational activities if the accident did not result from any
medical
condition (or from domestic violence).
- ---
So the first section says they can't deny coverage because they
know
we
ride motorcycles.
But the second says they can deny our claims if the injuries
occur
while
riding our motorcycles. (Unless you have a heart attack riding
down
the
road.)
I strongly recommend that you write a few letters to the
appropreate
people about it.
If you go here www.irs.gov/tax_regs/regslist.html and find the
comments
link near the HIPAA Nondiscrimination section there is a nice
form
that you
can comment in.
You can also email the U.S. Department of Labor at
hipaa702@pwda.dol.gov
about it - include 'Attn.: Non-discrimination Comments' in your
letter.
I can't find an email address for this one, but a letter would be
a
good
idea. They suggest that you send one signed original and three
copies.
Health Care Financing Administration
Department of Health and Human Services
Attention: HCFA-2022-IFC
P.O. Box 26688
Baltimore, MD 21207
The AMA's link about it is here:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/legisltn/releases/g01001.html
- --
Reverend Timothy W. Foreman - Minister of ?
Team Strange/Promise Breakers + IBMWR + DoD + AMA + BMWMOA + VI +
LDR
timf@anansi-web.com * www.anansi-web.com/~timf *
www.TeamStrange.com
- ----
----- ---
-
'82 R100RS - "Churchy La Femme" | '83 Kawasaki GPz305 - "The
Scoot"
'93 K1100RS - "Brunhilda" | '74 Honda CB350 - In the
basement
--------------------
"The difference between bikers and riders...riders ride in the
rain,
bikers
get caught in the rain. Bikers look at your engine and your
chrome,
riders
look at your plate and your odometer." -Brian Burdette
Sub/Unsub instructions, rules etc.
are at http://www.ldriders.org/
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