Dear Friend,

Heartless! That's how MomsRising member Beth Dodson Messersmith described the decision by several major insurance companies in some states to no longer cover kids who are not part of their parents' plan.[1]

The announcement that some insurance companies are backing away from kids came just as millions of Americans celebrated the implementation of a new ban on denying children coverage due to pre-existing conditions, enacted as part of health reform. Many children are gaining coverage by this new protection. However, it seems that some companies -- Anthem, Aetna, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth Group -- are trying to circumvent these new protections by dropping child-only insurance plans.[2]

Enough already! Please join me by signing the MomsRising petition to health insurance companies: http://action.momsrising.org/go/407?ak_proof=1&akid=.1832379.W5f3Ki&t=4&referring_akid=2328.1014205.PP9UTp&source=taf

MomsRising will deliver your signatures to the CEOs of these companies and share them with the media, which is carefully tracking this issue now. Our grassroots opposition to insurance companies trying to shortchange kids will also strengthen the efforts of state legislators, state insurance commissioners, and federal regulators who are actively working to reverse this trend.

Although these “child-only” policies are a small portion of the individual marketplace, this coverage means the world to the children who need it and to the families who love them. Families who need to buy child-only insurance policies include parents who work in small businesses and are not offered family coverage, grandparents on Medicare who care for their grandchildren, some returning veterans who get their coverage through the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and more. [3]

We must stop this harmful insurance trend against kids in its tracks! We can prevent other insurance companies from turning their backs on kids by showing them that women - their primary customers - don’t approve. Women make 80% of all healthcare decisions so our opinions affect the bottom lines of insurance companies. Now is the time many families are making decisions about which healthcare coverage to purchase. Let's remind insurance companies that moms and dads will be closely watching how they treat our nation's children when we make our health insurance enrollment choices this fall. [4]

Sign the MomsRising petition calling on these companies to reverse their decision and put children above profits: http://action.momsrising.org/go/407?ak_proof=1&akid=.1832379.W5f3Ki&t=6&referring_akid=2328.1014205.PP9UTp&source=taf

Please forward this message on to family and friends so they can take action for children's health too.

Thanks!