CNN 2010-03-29

PHILLIPS: Immediately after the President signs the bill this morning, insurance companies will have to cover children with preexisting conditions. The companies can continue to deny adults until 2014.

Let's look at how the reforms will impact the vast majority of Americans. 85 percent of us have some form of insurance coverage 1. So, what changes can we expect? CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us for a closer look.

If you don't mind since this is your specialty 2, the brain, Kalila, and I'm looking at her condition once again, missing the frontal lobes 3 of her brain. First of all, talk to me about that. Is that a tough thing, you know, to deal with regard to insurance?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's interesting, because you don't know exactly what caused her frontal lobes of her brain to atrophy 4 or sort of wither 5 away or was she simply born without them. Sometimes, people, because they've had a lack of oxygen to the brain for a period of time, even during the birthing process, for example, can have problems like that. She is obviously cognitively 6 affected 7 by this, but as was mentioned, I think, by her caregiver, I'm not sure if that was her mom or who that was, the seizures 9 as well, which can be very debilitating 10 and very hard to treat, and you know, required medications as well. So all of that, just obviously, caring for her and --

PHILLIPS: It is her mom, by the way.

GUPTA: That's her mom?

PHILLIPS: Yes, that is her mom.

GUPTA: The situation that she's in and all the meds and the wheelchair and everything else, that has significant cost.

PHILLIPS: So, you know, the point of that story was that apparently 11, this new plan will be good for her, but her mom is still very skeptical 12 and not so sure. I guess a lot of us want to see --

GUPTA: Right.

PHILLIPS: Stories like this where, OK great, someone like Kalila is going to get help right away.

GUPTA: You know, it's interesting because if you look at all the various people in this country who will be affected by this, the people who have some sort of medical problem and who are currently either uninsured or have difficulty getting insurance are probably going to be the most affected and the most immediately affected as well. As for children, not discriminating 13 against based on the pre-existing condition, that's can take place within 6 months. So, insurance companies are going to have to provide health care insurance for children like Kaila, and that's obviously a big deal.

She made a good point, I thought, as well. Her mom saying, you know, there was some coverage under Medicaid that already existed. There was some coverage under some of the state programs, but it simply wasn't enough. And I think her skepticism may still be from this idea that is it still going to be enough. And some of those details are going to have to wait and be seen. Insurance companies provide the health care insurance coverage but make sure that it's adequate as well to pay for the seizure 8 medications, to pay for the wheelchair, to pay for all the care that someone like Kalila needs.