NASW Government Relations Action Alert

March 3, 2006

Contact Your Senator Now to Oppose Destructive HIMMA Bill (S.1955)

THE ISSUE AT HAND

President Bush and some small employers are putting strong pressure on the Senate to pass health insurance regulatory changes to benefit selective employee groups. This new initiative is known as the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (HIMMA, S. 1955). This bill is part of a larger health agenda to enact Association Health Plans (AHPs) that have already passed the House as H.R. 525. NASW is concerned that the Senate bill could pass under election-year pressure, enabling negotiations with the House over its AHP bill and producing a very destructive regulatory framework for all commercial health insurance.

ACTION NEEDED

The HIMMA bill S. 1955 will be voted on by the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee this Wednesday, March 8, 2006. One of your Senators, listed below, sits on the HELP Committee and will vote on this bill at that time. NASW needs you to contact your Senator now and tell him or her that this bill is too destructive of essential insurance protections for vulnerable beneficiaries and it must be entirely rejected.

BACKGROUND

S.1955 is a highly complex bill that makes sweeping changes in the health insurance regulatory environment by federalizing many key aspects of insurance regulation that are currently state responsibilities. One of the goals of the bill is to “harmonize” the regulatory environment, making it easier to sell insurance products across multiple state lines. These products would be cheaper because they would not conform to state mandatory benefit requirements, provider choice laws or consumer protections. They would in most cases be “bare bones” insurance products marketed across state lines. NASW is highly supportive of increasing access to health care coverage for working people, but we oppose S. 1955 because it would eviscerate behavioral health and most other mandatory health benefits, preempt over 30 social work “freedom of choice” laws and eliminate basic consumer protections, all the while producing a different premium structure that will make it much more expensive for higher risk groups and individuals to afford any insurance.

Sample Phone Message

Members of the Senate HELP Committee must be contacted now to hear opposition to S. 1955. Phone calls are necessary because of the short notice given for Committee consideration of this new and poorly understood legislation. A sample phone message follows:

”My name is _________ from (city, state). As a constituent, professional social worker, and member of the National Association of Social Workers, I am calling to ask Senator (last name) to oppose the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (HIMMA, S. 1955). This Act would exempt many new health plans from critical state laws and regulations, thereby gutting existing consumer protections and coverage requirements and increasing insurance premiums for those left behind. I urge the Senator’s strong opposition to this bill during HELP Committee consideration this week. Thank you.

Call your Senator through the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121, and just ask for the office by name.

TIMING

It is critical for opposition to be heard immediately, since S.1955 will undergo committee consideration on Wednesday, March 8th.
 

HELP COMMITTEE ROSTER

THANKS FOR YOUR ADVOCACY!

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