[MR] Frightening news

[Karen Banks]

This was sent me because I ride horses, but has
significant ramificantions for those of us who fight
in the SCA.  Please write these people (addresses
provided below) and express your concern.

* * * *
Finally, I've heard something disturbing in the last
day that could affect everyone who is invovled in
'dangerous' hobbies.  I haven't read the actual
proposed rules, so I don't know how alarmist this is,
but I thought I should bring it to your attention.....

Regulations proposed by the Internal Revenue Service,
the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and
the Health Care Financing Administration could affect
people who enjoy horseback riding (and other forms of
recreation) by permitting health insurers to exclude
coverage for injuries resulting from riding and other
forms of "dangerous" recreation. While the new
proposals state that an employer cannot refuse
health-care coverage to an employee based on
participation in recreational activities, they permit
health insurers to deny coverage for injuries
sustained in connection w! ith such recreational
activities, effectively reaching the same result. The
new regulations were jointly issued by the three
federal agencies as interim rules, which means they
are effective now.  But the public has until April 9
to comment on the proposals and such comments will
be considered. These proposed regulations permit
exclusions from health insurance coverage based on
activities, including horseback riding, that
Congress sought to protect.  In 1966, Congress passed
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act.  As we read this Act, it was intended to prohibit
health insurers from denying health coverage based on
a worker's pre-existing medical condition or
participation in legal recreational activities. The
legislative history of the Act states that the law "is
intended to ensure, among other things, that
individuals are not excluded from health-care
coverage due to their participation in activiti! es
such as motorcycling, snowmobiling, all-terrain
vehicle riding, horseback riding, skiing and other
similar activities." Recreational groups, including
the American Horse Council, worked to have that
language included in the legislative history of the
Act
because some employers and insurers were
discriminating against recreationalists, leaving them
without coverage if they were involved in recreational
pursuits.  Incidents of discrimination involved the
denial of health-care protection to employees not only
involved in illegal activities, like driving a car
while intoxicated, but also when involved in legal
recreational activities, such as those mentioned
above.
While the proposed rules prohibit a person from being
denied health insurance coverage simply because he or
she engages in riding, they also permit an insurer to
exclude benefits for injuries suffered
while engaged in such activities.  This effectively
excludes individuals engaged in such activities.
The AHC will submit comments to the federal agencies
in opposition tothis provision.  We urge any
individual or organization to do likewise.  

Comments must be submitted by April 9 to:

CC:M&SP:RU (REG-109707-97)
Room 5226
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 7604
Ben Franklin Station
Washington, DC 20044

U.S. Department of Labor
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Room C-5331 - Attention: Nondiscrimination Comments
Washington, DC 20210

Health Care Financing Administration
Department of Health and Human Services
Attention: HCFA-2022-IFC
P.O. Box 26688
Baltimore, MD 21207

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