Congress1

Motorcycle Politics

Earlier in the year I sent out the letter below to all of my representatives in congress. It is a protest of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and what happened to it once it was actually written into law. In a nutshell, if you ride a motorcycle, ski, ride horses or do anything else that the insurance industry arbitrarily decides is a high risk activity, you can be denied payment for treatment of your injuries even though you have insurance "coverage". Included at the bottom of this web page is a summary of how each congressman responded and links to their actual replies.

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May 13, 2001

Dear Representative / Senator _________________

Like most Texans I believe I have the right to think and act for my own best good with minimal regulations by the federal government. Because of my belief in individual freedom and personal liberties I am deeply offended and concerned about recently enacted administrative regulations. As you know, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 became law on May 8 of this year. The rules which enforce this act discriminate against skiers, motorcyclists, horseback riders and others by allowing health care benefits to be denied for injuries sustained during these activities.

According to the American Motorcyclists Association website at www.ama-cycle.org, denial of benefits to motorcyclists and others was not the intent of congress when the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was passed. A quote from the website reads, "... language in the Congressional Record at the time noted that the law ' is intended to ensure, among other things, that individuals are not excluded from health-care coverage due to their participation in activities such as motorcycling, snowmobiling, all-terrain vehicle riding, horseback riding, skiing and other similar activities.' ". The rules as written however are in clear contradiction to the intent of the congress at the time.

I have been riding motorcycles off and on for the past 35 years and have never had a motorcycle related accident. If these outrageous rules are allowed to stand, I will be forced to give up an important part of my life that brings me relaxation and joy because to continue to ride with the new rules in place creates an unacceptable financial risk to my family.

I hope you can help me and many thousands of others by urging Secretary Tommy Thompson to change the language of the rules so that they do not so blatantly discriminate against motorcyclists, skiers and other individuals who pay for medical insurance to protect themselves and their families from financial ruin in the event of and accident.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Robert M. McHam

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The above letter was sent to Representative Ken Bentsen (D), Senator Phil Graham (R), and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R), all of Texas. The replies that were received tell a lot about where their priorities are at. Ken Bentsen (D) is the only one that was willing to do something about the problem and sent proof that he had done so. Phil Graham (R) sent a nice long letter that said absolutely nothing! Never in my life have I seen such a beautiful example of the political two step as this letter. Kay Hutchinson (R) on the other hand,.... oh well, maybe you'd be better off just reading it yourself. Links to their replies are at the bottom of this page.

Until this abomination is re-written (hopefully) , you are all urged to check with your insurance companies and make sure that you are still insured in the event of an accident sustained while engaging in the above mentioned activities. I was lucky because my insurer confirmed to me over the phone and by email that they would indeed cover me now and had no plans in the future to deny payment in the event of an accident while riding my motorcycle.

I urge you all to write your representatives and put as much pressure as you can on them to get this nonsense changed. And now for their replies: