7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Study: Many Have "Pre-Existing Conditions"
A significant portion of the Illinois population has what's known as "pre-existing conditions," putting in jeopardy their access to health insurance, according to a new study.

That portion is 23 percent of those under age 65, about 2 1/2 million people, according to an analysis by the group Families USA, a pro-health-insurance-reform group.

Director, Ron Pollack says this includes only those diagnosed with a pre-existing condition; there are likely more with conditions or illnesses that would affect their insurability who haven't yet been diagnosed, especially if they are uninsured and rarely or never see a doctor.

Many of these 2 1/2 million have insurance now, especially if they work for a large employer, but if they leave their jobs or are laid off, they'll find insurance in the individual market hard to get or impossibly priced, Pollack says.

Families USA is touring benefits of the federal health insurance reform law, which in 2014 will bar insurance companies from refusing customers or charging high premiums based on pre-exiting conditions.

(Illinois Radio Network)
05 19 10 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.