N.J. health insurance bill off the fast track
By Jeff Pillets, The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Now concerns that the broader access will be compromised by a new bill have caused the legislation's sponsors to consider last-minute changes after fast-tracking it through the Assembly. The bill, S-2220, would encourage small and midsized employers to band together into self-insured pools to provide employee health coverage.
Proponents of the bill won a 79-0 vote in the Assembly after arguing that the insurance pools, known as "Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements," or MEWAs, would lower premiums and give strapped small businesses a new way to counter rising costs of coverage.
But a coalition of health care advocates said the pools could leave the elderly and sick paying big new premiums as private investors in the proposed groups walk off with profits. The MEWAs would also be at odds, they said, with the spirit of the Affordable Care Act as it seeks to draw more people into a larger, more cost-effective coverage pool.
They say the bill, which was pushed by Conner, Strong & Buckelew, a
"For a long time we have been ahead of the curve in
"The troubling thing is that we would be creating a shadow health-insurance system under the name of MEWAs that seeks an end run around state regulation,'' Jacobi said.
Signs surfaced late Friday afternoon that opponents' protests were being heard when one sponsor of the bill said he was exploring changes that might eliminate a provision allowing for private investment.
But key watchdog groups in
State Sen.
"These MEWAs have generally not had a good record in
A key sticking point for opponents is the provision that would allow private investors to buy into the employer insurance groups, and take profits in some circumstances. Even prominent backers of the legislation said allowing such investors would not only increase costs and risk to employers, but possibly violate federal law.
"The idea of reforming existing law to give employers more choices makes sense," said
In an interview with The Record on Friday, a leading sponsor of the legislation conceded that he was considering amending the bill to eliminate the possibility of private investment in newly formed employer insurance groups.
State Sen.
"In trying to get this bill done some things may have gotten in not exactly how we wanted," Singer said. "But the bottom line is that changing the law will make MEWAs more competitive in the marketplace and give small businesses more choice."
This month, Singer and a second sponsor of the legislation, Assemblyman
Singer said the firm's input was important because it already has broad experience running several health-insurance pools for local governments, which the new MEWAs would resemble. He also said he expected
DiBella, however, said the private-investment clause in the bill is not essential and would do nothing to undermine benefits the measure would bring. Chief among those, he said, would be giving choices to small employers in an era when they are diminishing.
He also said that concerns being raised by the bill's opponents are "lawfully and technically wrong." He said the much-repeated claims of opponents that the bill would eliminate restrictions on premiums to the detriment of the elderly are unfounded because those protections are part of federal law under the Affordable Care Act.
Under state law for many small employee groups, the maximum that elderly and ill individuals can be charged for premiums is twice what the youngest members pay. While the bill would eliminate that restriction, DiBella said, federal law allowing a 3-to-1 premium ratio would still be in effect.
"There would still be significant protections," he said.
A spokesman for the state
Considine, of Meadowlands hospital, pointed out that insurance pools have existed in
"The opponents of this bill are missing the boulevard for the sidewalk," he said. "We have an opportunity here to create a new tool for employers. We need to have more tools, not less."
___
(c)2014 The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)
Visit The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) at www.NorthJersey.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Wordcount: | 1132 |
Murphy knows how it feels to lose wood products mill to fire
Federal Reserve’s David Wright and OCC’s David Wilson Join Deloitte’s Market-Leading Risk Advisory Practice
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News