Alfa health plan bill 1 vote from final passage

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Farmers Federation's proposal to allow it to sell health coverage plans outside of traditionally regulated insurance is one vote from final passage.

House Bill 477 by Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, was approved unchanged in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee Tuesday morning.

"We've got farmers that are paying way too much for health care costs," Faulkner told the committee before the vote. Alfa has said this session insurance premiums that are sometimes higher than mortgages are too great a burden for farm families.

Faulkner also said what Alfa will offer will be more comprehensive than the similar plans offered in 10 other states and modeled after those first created in Tennessee.

Alfa has agreed to multiple changes to the bill this session to win GOP support, including an amendment that says people won't lose coverage if they get seriously ill or have a major injury. Alfa also expanded what care will be covered, including prescriptions and mental health care.

Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, offered an amendment to require the Alfa health plans to cover people with pre-existing conditions. That amendment was tabled by Republicans.

Alfa has said it expects to cover most applicants, but accepting everyone with pre-existing conditions would eliminate the cost savings it's trying to achieve for its members through the legislation.

Opposition to the bill remains as it moves to what is likely a final vote in the Senate.

"We continue to have grave concerns about the harmful effects SB84 and HB477 would have on Alabamians, especially after the failure of amendments that would have added oversight and patient protections," American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Alabama Government Relations Director Jane Adams told Alabama Daily News on Tuesday. "There's a reason why these plans are currently illegal. If state lawmakers legalize the sale of substandard health plans, they will leave Alabamians, including cancer patients, exposed to medical and financial harm."

The House approved the bill in a 98-1 vote two weeks ago. A previous amendment giving the Alabama Department of Insurance the ability to enforce provisions of the legislation was removed on the House floor.

If approved without changes in the Senate, the bill will then go to Gov. Kay Ivey.