NH Women Challenge Ayotte Health Care Plan

by: EBrowne

Thu Feb 25, 2010 at 17:13:48 PM EST

Laura was diagnosed with a condition called hydrocephalus or "water on the brain" when she was one-month old. It was caught early on, and after three childhood surgeries, Laura has had a completely clean bill of health for 21 years. But she has been denied individual insurance by every single health insurer in New Hampshire because of her "pre-existing" condition, putting her in a dangerous position should she ever require another extensive surgery.

AnnMarie Morse, many of you know, is the incredible mother behind Michelle's Law - a bill she championed in honor of her daughter Michelle, who was diagnosed with colon cancer and told that in order to continue receiving health insurance under her parents' plan, she had to keep up a full course load. Against the advice of her doctors she remained a full-time student until she passed away in 2005. AnnMarie fought successfully to pass Michelle's Law both in New Hampshire and nationally so no insurance company could put another family in the position the Morse's found themselves in.

AnnMarie and Laura learned first-hand that where there is a loophole, insurance companies will find it. Where there is a lack of regulation, they will use it to protect, or enhance, their own profits.

Since getting in the race, Kelly Ayotte has been an unabashed advocate for a health care system run by insurance companies. She has pushed the policies and proposals that will give them the power to cherry-pick who they extend coverage too. Her health care plan is staked on an old Republican stalwart - letting insurance companies offer policies across state lines. While it sounds non-threatening, her plan's effect on health care coverage and the consumer protections we enjoy in New Hampshire would be dramatic. If we let insurance companies sell policies across state lines, where do you think they'll all go? The same place credit card companies went in 1980 - the states with lax regulations that let them ignore consumer protections and reap the financial benefits. That means no mandated coverage for mammograms, prenatal care, reconstructive surgery after mastectomies, or any of those other pesky little "extras" that chip away at insurance profits but - quite literally -save lives in New Hampshire.

Most recently Ayotte refused to take a position on the president's new proposal to create a Rate Increase Authority. While hundreds of thousands of middle-class Americans lose their jobs and lose their health care, insurance companies have pulled record profits in recent years. News broke last week that a West Coast insurance giant was going to raise premiums on unsuspecting consumers by 39 percent. Democratic senate candidate Paul Hodes' congressional office released figures today showing that New Hampshire premium rates will climb higher than any other state in the Northeast without health care reform.

If we support Kelly Ayotte's approach to health care, coverage will evaporate and rates will climb. Laura Mick will never be covered. And another mother in New Hampshire may find herself in the heartbreaking position of watching her daughter choose between preserving her health insurance or protecting her actual health, just like AnnMarie Morse.