Health Care Issues and HIPAA

The federal government regulates all employer and union-provided health care plans (with some important exceptions involving state regulatory authority). Unfortunately, a Clinton administration regulation, spurred by a provision in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which prohibits the mandate of benefits, has resulted in discrimination against motorcyclists. In short, insurers can now extend health care benefits to employees who have accidents while driving cars, while denying accident benefits to employees who ride motorcycles. It is unfair, it is discriminatory, and we are fighting it with innovations at the state and federal levels and in concert with the AMA.

Currently in the 110th Congress legislation has been introduced in both the Senate and House chambers to close the loophole that allows self insured companies to discriminate against motorcyclists. Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) have introduced the House legislation, HR 1076. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) have introduced the Senate counterpart legislation, S.616. The MRF encourages all of our federal elected officials to co sponsor this important legislation and call for swift passage into law.

Join the MRF, and we can work together to rescue health care for motorcyclists!

The following is a listing of links to sections of the MRF website concerning health care and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996:

06/24/04 - MRF Leaders' Report: Independence Day Recess Period

05/20/04 - MRF E-Mail Alert #04NR24: MRF Urges You To Make The Most of The Upcoming Congressional Recess!

11/03/03 - MRF E-Mail Alert #03NR37: Senate Committee Passes Health Care Remedy Unanimously!

10/12/03 - MRF Leaders' Report: Bikers Should Praise and Push!

09/16/03 - MRF E-Mail Alert #03NR32: MRF Conference Simulcast on INBRadio

07/19/03 - MRF Leaders' Report: Rescuing Health Care - H.R. 1749

06/15/03 - MRF Leaders' Report: Health Care Co-Sponsors Now Number Eighty - H.R. 1749

04/14/03 - MRF Leaders' Report: House Moves To Rescue Health Care Benefits - H.R. 1749

03/01/03 - MRF E-Mail Alert #03NR07: Rider Health Care Rescue At Hand

09/26/02 - Live Broadcast: MRF's Meeting of the Minds Conference 2002, health care issues and HIPAA discussed during "General Session" and "Panel Discussion"

05/25/02 - MRF Leaders' Report: Health Care Outrage!

05/23/02 - MRF Leaders' Report: Colorado Invades Washington

05/16/02 - MRF Leaders' Report: Pennsylvania Lobbies Congress

04/03/02 - MRF Leaders' Report: Three SMROs in One Week

03/14/02 - MRF Leaders' Report: Iowa Plus MRF PAC Power

03/01/02 - MRF Leaders' Report: Georgia Barr None

02/15/02 - MRF Leaders' Report: EPA and Health Care Remedies Pushed

09/27/01 - Live Broadcast: MRF's Meeting of the Minds Conference 2001, health care issues and HIPAA discussed during "General Session," "Health Care and the Environment" and "Riding Through Regulation"

09/01 - MRF White Papers: Is Your Free Time Really Free?" - The Impact of Federal Health Care Regulation on Motorcycling, Transportation and Recreation, by Teri Stobbs

06/08/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR19: Recuring Health Care: Top Priority For Motorcyclists

05/08/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR17: HIPAA Non-Discrimination Rules To Remain

04/09/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR14: Effort To Rescue Riders’ Health Care Moves Ahead!

04/07/01 - Live Broadcast: MRF's BEST of the West Conference 2001, health care issues and HIPAA discussed during "General Session" and "Is Your Ride for Freedom or Is My Ride Finished?"

04/03/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR12: Ride With The Leaders to the Nation's Capitol - Week #5

03/29/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR11: End The Discrimination In Health Care!

03/27/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR10: Ride With The Leaders to the Nation's Capitol - Week #4

03/15/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR09: Ride With The Leaders to the Nation's Capitol - Week #3

03/07/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR07: Ride With The Leaders to the Nation's Capitol

03/01/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR06: Ride With The Leaders to the Nation's Capitol

01/21/01 - MRF E-Mail Alert #01NR03: Bikers Betrayed, Snagged By Health Care Catch-22

09/00 - MRF White Papers: Safety Nets: More on the Social Burden Fallacy, by Steve Zimmer

04/08/97 - Interim Final Rule on Health Care Insurance Issued

08/21/96 - President Signs Health Care Insurance Reform Bill

09/93 - MRF White Papers: Catastrophic Health Insurance" by Robert E. Higdon, Christopher Kallfelz, Todd Vandermyde

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