Does Obamacare cover children with pre-existing conditions? - YES
General Reference (not clearly pro or con)
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Section 1255, "Amendment to the Public Health Service Act," page 36, signed into law on Mar. 23, 2010, available at www.thomas.gov, states:
"(2) the provisions of section 2704 of the Public Health Service Act (as amended by section 1201), as they apply to enrollees who are under 19 years of age, shall become effective for plan years beginning on or after the date that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act."
The Public Health Service Act, Section 2704 [42 U.S.C. 300gg–3], "Prohibition of Preexisting Condition Exclusions or Other Discrimination Based on Health Status," page 8, signed into law on May 24, 2010, available www.housedocs.house.gov, states:
"(a) IN GENERAL.—A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage may not impose any preexisting condition exclusion with respect to such plan or coverage."
Does Obamacare cover children with pre-existing conditions? - YES
PRO (yes)
CON (no)
Barack H. Obama, 44th President of the United States, in a Mar. 18, 2012 posting, "The President’s Record on Health Care," available at www.barackobama.com, provided the following information:
"Fact: Before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies could deny coverage to children with medical conditions. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, as many as 17 million children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied health insurance."
Kate Thomas, New Media Campaign Coordinator at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), posted in her Mar. 23, 2012 article "Children with Pre-existing Conditions Can No Longer Be Denied the Care They Need," available at www.seiu.org:
"Since September 23, 2010, children living with pre-existing health conditions can no longer be denied benefits or coverage by insurance companies, or even be limited in their treatment for a pre-existing condition."
The US Department of Health and Human Services stated in its Aug. 2, 2012 posting "Children's Pre-Existing Conditions," available at www.healthcare.gov:
"Under the Affordable Care Act, health plans cannot limit or deny benefits or deny coverage for a child younger than age 19 simply because the child has a 'pre-existing condition' — that is, a health problem that developed before the child applied to join the plan.
Until now, plans could refuse to accept anyone because of a pre-existing health condition, or they could limit benefits for that condition.
Now, under the health care law, plans that cover children can no longer exclude, limit, or deny coverage to your child under age 19 solely based on a health problem or disability that your child developed before you applied for coverage.
This rule applies to all job-related health plans as well as individual health insurance policies issued after March 23, 2010. The rule will affect your plan as soon as it begins a plan year or policy year on or after September 23, 2010."
[Editor’s Note: Based upon a neutral reading of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and bi-partisan third party analysis, this question seems to have a clear and obvious Pro (yes) answer, and ProCon.org has therefore presented the responses in a single column with no opposing perspective.]
