All of these companies paid their CEO millions while they refuse health care to children. INDIANAPOLIS — Several health insurers say they will stop selling new child-only individual insurance policies as they face a health care reform provision that will prevent them from excluding children with potentially costly pre-existing conditions. An insurance industry representative said the decision affects a relatively small population and is being made to keep costs down for all policyholders. But a Georgetown University researcher said some middle-class children could be left vulnerable by the ensuing lack of coverage options. Several provisions of the health care overhaul went into effect Thursday, six months after it was signed into law. One of those could help parents who have struggled to find coverage for children with expensive medical conditions. Under the provision, insurers will not be able to exclude children from coverage because of a pre-existing health condition. This means they will no longer be able to deny coverage or agree to cover the child except for services related to certain conditions. However WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc., Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp. and Humana Inc. — the five largest publicly traded health insurers based on enrollment — all have said recently they will stop selling child-only individual policies, although those children can still get coverage through a family plan in the individual market. Individual insurance is coverage that is not offered through an employer and includes both single and family coverage. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39314403/ns/health-health_care/ added by: elsonwvu
