CEO DATELINE - Insurer raises concern about association health plans in GOP bill
CEO DATELINE - Insurer raises concern about association health plans in GOP bill
- June 27, 2017 |
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Walt Williams
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A large insurer is expressing worries about a little-known provision in the Senate health care bill that would give association health plans more flexibility to pick and choose which benefits they offer, according to news site Vox.
The Better Care Reconciliation Act would allow small businesses to purchase employee health insurance across state lines through national associations. Under the Affordable Care Act, association health plans were required to cover essential health benefits. The Senate bill would do away with the requirement and allow association plans to choose coverage corresponding to the requirements of a state of their choosing.
The legislation also would create a new office at Health and Human Services to oversee association health plans—a job currently handled by the states.
In a private email obtained Vox, the insurer said the result of the provision would be to drive up premiums for small employers. (The news site didn't identify the insurer.) Critics worry small businesses with young, healthy workforces would choose association plans providing minimum coverage to keep costs down. As a result, most other small businesses would be stuck with plans with higher premiums than they would otherwise pay.
"I think it's pretty clear that this would allow market segmentation," Timothy Jost, an emeritus professor at Washington and Lee University, told Vox. "There are certainly winners and losers." http://bit.ly/2uecGqn
The Senate bill is the second time the issue has come before federal lawmakers this year. The House of Representatives passed the Small Business Health Fairness Act on March 15, which also freed association health plans from the federal essential benefits requirement and state regulation. The National Retail Federation, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business endorsed the legislation.
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