A bill that would prohibit insurers from charging patients for colonoscopies that end up as surgical procedures passed the legislature. As WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports, it now awaits the governor's approval.
Not long ago, we told you about an oddity in health insurance. It went like this. Under the nation's new health care law, called the Affordable Care Act, most preventative screenings should come at no additional cost to patients. But what happens when a screening turns into a treatment? Here's what happens.
"We get a lot of calls believe it or not from people who have gone in for screening colonoscopies and half a month later a month later they get a bill at home and the bill is $1,500, $2,000, $2,100."
That's Victoria Veltri, the state's healthcare advocate. She says her office got about 40 complaints about this kind of billing in 2011. So she's happy the legislature passed a bill that would prohibit it.
"We have been hoping for a bill like this for a while, actually, but now that the Affordable Care Act is passed, I look at this bill more as a bill of a compliance than anything else. Because the Affordable Care Act requires that colonoscopies be covered as preventative screenings."
This bill now awaits signature from Governor Dannel Malloy. His office says the governor and his staff will review the legislation when it arrives at his office.
For WNPR, I'm Jeff Cohen.
This story is part of a reporting project with WNPR, NPR, and Kaiser Health News. Funding for WNPR's Health Reporting Initiative comes from the Connecticut Health Foundation, Hospital of Saint Rafael, and Kids Dental Care in Bristol - Specialized Services, Expert Care.
