Department of Health and Human Services Reports Lifetime Limit Rule Benefits 105 Million People

The HHS has released new data it claims shows the positive impact of one portion of the healthcare reform law. The law’s ban on lifetime monetary limits in health insurance coverage has affected 105 million people, the department says. The law was a response to circumstances where individuals faced illnesses (such as cancer) that risked bypassing predefined lifetime dollar limits set by their insurance companies. While not every plan included these limits, HHS reports that over 100 million people had purchased plans that had such a limit.

“For years, Americans with lifetime caps imposed on their health insurance benefits have had to live with the fear that if an illness or accident happened, they could max out their health coverage when they needed it the most,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, “Now, because of the health care law, they no longer have to live in fear of that happening.”

The department estimates that nearly 70 percent of those impacted by the ban received health benefits from large employers, while about 25 million received health coverage from plans purchased by small employers; a further 10 million purchased health insurance plans independently. Previously, HHS reported that 54 million participants in private healthcare plans and over 32 million Medicare participants had benefited from at least one free preventative service thanks to the new healthcare reform law. What’s more, in December 2011, the department disclosed data indicating that almost 2.5 million 15 to 19 year olds had attained health coverage as a result of the law’s dependant coverage stipulation.