Whitmer signs bill on health insurance caps

"This fall, let's codify the commonsense cost-saving measures of the ACA, including protections for pre-existing conditions, so you can't be charged more for having cancer, diabetes or being pregnant."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

A bill sponsored by a state representative who covers parts of Monroe and Lenawee counties was among a package signed into law Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Whitmer signed bills to place in state law the key health care protections secured by the federal Affordable Care Act, including Rep. Reggie Miller's bill to prohibit insurance providers from placing caps on annual or lifetime insurance benefits.

"Prior to the implementation of the federal ACA, insurance providers had every right to implement annual and lifetime caps on health care coverage," Miller, D-Van Buren Township, said in an emailed statement. "These providers had the freedom to decide that coverage for things like cancer or Crohn's disease were too expensive, and people could be hit with an annual cap on their coverage. This is yet another wrong we have corrected, and I'm proud to see this package signed into law."

Miller represents Macon Township in Lenawee County as well as the northeastern part of Monroe County, including Dundee and Milan, and part of southern Wayne County.

Whitmer called it one of her top priorities in a speech laying out her legislative agenda before lawmakers returned to Lansing from their break. "This fall, let's codify the commonsense cost-saving measures of the ACA, including protections for pre-existing conditions, so you can't be charged more for having cancer, diabetes or being pregnant," she said then, prompting applause.

Lawmakers heeded Whitmer's call and sent the legislation to her desk before the end of the year.

The package of bills passed with bipartisan support and would essentially add to state law the key pieces of former President Barack Obama's signature health care law. One bill bars insurers from denying insurance to individuals based on their gender; gender identity or expression; or sexual orientation. It would expand the current prohibition on insurers from charging different rates for the same coverage.

Others ban insurers from denying coverage to someone with a preexisting condition, allow young adults to stay on their parents' health insurance until they're 26 years old, and require coverage for certain services such as hospitalization.

The legislative package approved by Whitmer also mandates insurers provide a summary of their coverage, bar insurers from rescinding coverage and specify the level of coverage an insurer would have to offer in Michigan.

Whitmer's office described the legislation as a way to ensure Michigan residents can continue to count on the federal health care protections in the event Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court repeals or guts portions of the ACA.

The bulk of the package is slated to take effect after the Legislature adjourns for the year.

"Today, I am proud to sign bipartisan bills putting the cost-saving provisions of the ACA into Michigan state law and protect health care for millions of Michiganders," Whitmer said in a statement.

"This fall, let's codify the commonsense cost-saving measures of the ACA, including protections for pre-existing conditions, so you can't be charged more for having cancer, diabetes or being pregnant."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer