Congressman
Brad Schneider (IL-10) reintroduced legislation to extend pre-existing condition protections to cover Medicare beneficiaries.
Under current law, seniors and disabled are one of the last groups that can still be charged more for their pre-existing conditions. More than a quarter of seniors enrolled in Medicare Traditional are also enrolled in Medicare supplement insurance, known as "Medigap." These plans are sold by private insurance to help cover deductibles, copays and other health care expenses, but are not covered by the Affordable Care Act's pre-existing conditions protections. Anyone under 65 enrolling in Medicare (for example persons with disabilities), or switching from Medicare Advantage to traditional Medicare, can be underwritten or denied a supplemental plan because they are sick.