In a new interview, Millionaire Stewart Mills III is traveling into uncharted political territory – predicting that under Republicans, people with pre-existing conditions could lose their health insurance and children would no longer be able to stay on their parents’ plans until they turn 26.
As MinnPost reported Monday, Mills “said that the [health care] law’s relatively popular provisions – such as ending the ban on pre-existing conditions, allowing children on their plan until they are 26, etc. – wouldn’t necessarily be part of a future reform effort.” Mills has previously contended, “there were very few people with true preexisting conditions” despite the fact that more than 100 million Americans have preexisting conditions.
“Millionaire Stewart Mills III has taken thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the health insurance industry, and now he wants to put the insurance companies back in charge to deny care to people with-pre-existing conditions and kick kids off their parents’ plans,” said Brandon Lorenz of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Stewart Mills III and his willingness to target even the most basic protections that prevent people from being denied care for pre-existing conditions is just more proof that he’s on the side of the special interests, and not Minnesota families.”
BACKGROUND:
Mills Not Committed to Covering Pre-Existing Conditions and Allowing Children on Parents Health Care Until they are 26. In 2014, the Minn Post reported Mills, “said that the law’s relatively popular provisions — such as ending the ban on pre-existing conditions, allowing children on their parents’ plan until they’re 26, etc. – wouldn’t necessarily be a part of a future reform effort.” [Minn Post, 8/25/14]
Mills Said People with Preexisting Conditions were “Very Few.” In 2014, the Brainerd Dispatch reported that Mills had said that in his experience as a vice president and health plan administrator of Mills Fleet Farm, cases of people with preexisting conditions were “very few” in number. [Brainerd Dispatch, 1/30/14]
- Brainerd Dispatch: Mills Said “True Preexisting Conditions that didn’t have a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Certificate.” In 2014, the Brainerd News issued correction to its January 30th article on Stewart Mills, reporting that “inadvertently omitted a portion of the comments” made by Mills and that he said “there were very few people with true preexisting conditions that didn’t have a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act certificate. The Dispatch regrets the error.” [Brainerd Dispatch, 2/19/14]
Mills Said Parents Should Pay to Keep Children on Health Care Plans. In 2014, MPR News reported that Mills said parents who wanted to keep kids on their health plans until they’re 26 “should pay for it, not pass along the cost to everyone else.” [MPR News, 2/12/14]
Mills Accepted $7,100 from the Insurance Industry. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Mills has accepted $7,100 from the Insurance industry. [Center for Responsive Politics, 8/26/14]