I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
A new study by Families USA, a consumer health organization, says 380,000 New Mexicans under the age of 65 can expect to be protected by provisions in the new federal health care reform legislation, which bars insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. That’s because more than one in five non-elderly New Mexicans have diagnosed pre-existing conditions.
“…Reform was also necessary to make certain that all insurance companies are held accountable for unfair practices…that these companies can no longer deny coverage regardless of one’s current health condition,” said Barbara Webber, Health Action New Mexico Executive Director, in a statement lauding the new health care reform bill.
One component of the legislation that received widespread support was regulation that prohibits insurance companies from denying health coverage to people due to pre-existing conditions; from charging discriminatory premiums based on health status; and from excluding benefits that would treat their health conditions.
The Families USA report shows that while all age groups have pre-existing health conditions, the problem grows with age to about half of adults between 55 and 64 having the problem. The problem of pre-existing conditions and how they impact the ability to acquire affordable health insurance is also one that spans all income groups, the report states, with two-thirds being among middle class and higher income people. Additionally, the amount of people who have pre-existing conditions may be understated, as the analysis only looks at those who have been diagnosed by a physician with a condition.
The data for the report were based on data on health conditions from the federal Medical Expenditures Panel Survey and demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS). Families USA commissioned The Lewin Group to analyze the data.
