AHA Past President Gardner attends White House Ceremony

AHA Immediate Past-President Timothy Gardner, M.D. stood up for heart disease and stroke patients young and old at the White House on Tuesday. The ceremony highlighted important regulations to implement provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that will help protect Americans from medical bankruptcy.

“These regulations will provide needed relief to families and individuals who have to make heart-wrenching decisions as they consider treatment options for life-threatening conditions,” said Gardner. “These insurance reforms will remove barriers that prevented some children and adults with heart disease, stroke and other chronic illnesses from getting affordable, quality care.”

Some of the highlights of the new regulations:

• No Discrimination against Children with Pre-Existing Conditions.
  
• Eliminating Lifetime Limits on Insurance Coverage- Prohibits insurers from imposing lifetime limits on benefits.
  
• Regulating Use of Annual Limits on Insurance Coverage
  
• No More Insurance Cancellations- Insurers can no longer cancel a person’s coverage because they become sick.

These new consumer protections will help ensure that health coverage is more affordable and available for heart disease and stroke patients.