A new alternative when your health insurance says no

Where do you turn when your health insurance company denies you coverage for care you really need? Until now millions of Americans had nowhere to go for help or would get caught up in a bureaucratic mess of an appeals process when they were turned down by their insurance company. But, today, the Obama Administration announced new regulations as part of our historic health care reform that would give many Americans access to a fair and honest appeals process for the first time.

The Affordable Care Act is putting Americans – not insurance companies or the government – in charge of their health care decisions. And, today’s new regulations are a huge step in that direction.

Stacie Ritter, a mom of two, came to Congress to describe her experience with insurance companies. With her two daughters diagnosed with cancer, she said, her "latest insurance company has been denying the medications that the doctors have been prescribing that are necessary for their recovery… I’ve been fighting with them for that. And we went bankrupt."

Now, many American families will have an alternative.

Today’s rules will end the patchwork of protections and simplify the process for consumers. Consumers in new health plans will gain access to internal and external appeals processes that are clearly defined, impartial, and designed to ensure that consumers have access to the affordable health care they need.

Learn more about how these new rules will help put you in control of your health care.