This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Steve:
When I click on the link I get a blank screen, is the link complete?
Steve McIlree
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Fjord Horse List
>
<fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com>
Sent by: cc:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Not A Hoax
ystery.com
04/30/2001 11:39 PM
Please respond to
fjordhorse
This message is from: Steve McIlree <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I now have seen in several forums the thought that the warning on the
denial of health insurance benefits to horsepersons was probably an
Internet hoax. Unfortunately, it is not. I spent the past couple
hours digging through the Federal Register and I can verify that the
danger is real. I am no lawyer, but it certainly appears to me that
the relevant portions of this interim regulation cited below state
that you may not be denied insurance coverage because of your horse
related activities, but the carrier may deny payment of benefits if
your injury was sustained in a horse related activity. I would
suggest that everyone stop wishing this thing was a hoax and start
writing letters to the agencies involved, and to your representatives
in the House and Senate. Send a letter, preferably handwritten, don't
email. And pass this on to other horse people, motorcycle riders,
snowmobilers, skiers, etc.
From Federal Register; January 8, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 5); Rules and
Regulations; Page 1377-1420
http://frwebgate5.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=9700028916+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
On page 1379 under "Health Factors"
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. In addition, the interim
regulations incorporate the statutory clarification that evidence of
insurability includes conditions arising out of acts of domestic
violence. See also the discussion below concerning source-of-injury
restrictions under the heading "Application to Benefits."
On page 1381 under "Application of Benefits"
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).
--
Steve McIlree -- Pferd & Skipper -- Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Don't blame me. I voted for Brown.
