Eric Schneiderman on Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Set your DVR or tune in the old-fashioned way TONIGHT at 8:00PM - Eric will be a guest on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann speaking about the passage of Ian's Law.

This week, the Assembly and Senate passed Eric’s landmark legislation to protect patients from abusive insurance industry practices. Among other things, it makes it illegal for insurers to drop entire classes of insurance as a pretext to deny coverage to individual policyholders. Now it’s becoming an issue in the Attorney General’s race.

 

The bill is named for Ian Pearl, a true champion for patients’ rights. Ian is a ventilator-dependent 37-year-old man with muscular dystrophy who lost his insurance when Guardian terminated the entire class of policies in the New York State that covered him and others. Guardian then initiated a new line of coverage without Ian. An internal document from the insurer showed that company officials justified dropping the entire line of policies in order to get rid of “the few dogs,” like Ian, who require specialized care.

 

When Eric learned of Ian’s case, he took on the insurance industry and introduced legislation to end these outrageous practices. Ian’s Law holds the insurance industry accountable and protects patients like Ian – and other individuals who have paid for insurance coverage – from being dumped when they get sick and need insurance the most.

 

Eric’s leadership in the fight to pass Ian’s Law is another example of his lifelong commitment to delivering justice for everyday New Yorkers.