Citizen Action: Senate Health Exchange Bill Allows Foxes in the Hen House
Statement from Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York in response to introduction yesterday of the Senate Majority’s bill, Establishment of New York Health Benefit Exchange: S5652
“Citizen Action is disappointed that the Senate Health Exchange bill fails to protect consumers from insurance industry abuses. The bill (S5652) allows the insurance industry to have a large voice in governing itself, and fails to protect consumers from sky-rocketing health insurance rates and from health plans that don’t cover people when they get hurt or sick. The goal of the Affordable Care Act is to provide everyone with affordable, quality insurance. New York State should meet that goal with a health Exchange that has a governing structure with no conflicts of interest, and the authority to select good plans at affordable prices to offer New York consumers and small businesses.
There are at least three glaring problems with Senate Insurance Chair Seward and Senate Health Chair Hannon’s legislation. First, there are no strong conflict of interest rules regarding who can be appointed to the governing board of the Exchange. We must explicitly prohibit those who stand to make a profit from the Exchange, like insurers and brokers, from sitting on the Board of Directors. Second, the bill prohibits the Exchange from exercising any authority to protect insurance consumers, except when mandated by the federal law. The Exchange from its inception must have the authority to select good quality plans and negotiate affordable rates on behalf of consumers. The entire purpose of the Exchange is to help consumers get the best deal and for people to be able to pool their purchasing power. There is no reason to put off a decision that is so clearly in the public’s best interest. Finally, the Senate’s bill continues to segment the population of New York, instead of bringing us all together for one stop service. The Senate’s version of the Exchange would send people who qualify for public programs to one place, private programs to another, and small businesses to yet another. New Yorkers should have one place to go to get the health coverage services they need.
With very little time left in the legislation session, I urge the entire legislature to engage in this critical issue. How millions of New Yorkers and tens of thousands of small businesses will obtain coverage in 2014 and beyond is at stake in the next 6 session days. Although there will be time to make other key policy decisions later, the decisions before the legislature now will deeply impact their constituents. A robust debate is necessary right now.
The Senate’s bill seems to not only let the fox guard the hen house, but lets the fox in the hen house. No strict conflict of interest and no authority for the Exchange to negotiate good plans and affordable rates on behalf of consumers would be a disaster for New York families and small businesses.”
Citizen Action of New York is a statewide grassroots organization with 20,000 members. Citizen Action coordinated the New York efforts of Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which was the national coalition that organized to win federal health reform. The establishment of a state health Exchange is one of the first major steps in implementation of that law. The exchange will be the entity through which individuals and small businesses get health coverage and subsidies.
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