Letters To The Editor: A New Medical Convenience; ‘Copper Plans’ And Other Coverage Issues

Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We will edit for space, and we require full names.

The recent story, The Latest In Medical Convenience: ER Appointments (Gorman and Colliver, 7/3), drew a number of responses. Here’s an example:

Judy Lay; Lomita, Calif.

Another reader offered this comment regarding What The Hobby Lobby Decision Means For Employers (6/30):

John Clark; Frisco, Texas

Meanwhile, an insurance industry trade group offered this response to Proposal To Add Skimpier ‘Copper’ Plans To Marketplace Raises Concerns (Andrews, 7/1).

Brendan Buck, vice president of communications for America’s Health Insurance Plans; Washington, D.C.

Your June 30th story … sends a troubling message that those who find current coverage options unaffordable are better left uninsured. Instead of writing these Americans off, our goal should be to find new ways to lower barriers to the important benefits that health plans provide. Indeed, the issue is not a choice between a new lower-premium plan or a platinum policy; it’s this new option or no coverage at all. The goal of a new catastrophic plan is to address the fundamental issue of affordability, and give those currently uninsured a pathway into the system. For younger and healthier Americans especially, a lower-premium plan option would not only help protect them from being bankrupted by a medical tragedy, but also provide access to important preventive care services that would be available with no out-of-pocket cost. The critics quoted may not believe consumers would be interested in a lower-tier plan, but we know with certainty that a market exists.

Another reader shared her personal experiences after reading In Unhealthy Eastern Tennessee, Limited Patient Options Bring Some Of The Country’s Cheapest Premiums (Rau, 7/8).

Kimberly K. Dorris; Scottsdale, Ariz.