Contacts Needed NOW to all Senators: Oppose Association Health
Plans (S.406)
August 4, 2005
Issue:
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 525,
which would undermine healthcare in your state by creating
a new type of health insurance, federal Association Health
Plans.
This bill is now being considered in the Senate as S. 406.
If this bill passes, Association Health Plans will be free
to eliminate your right to appeal a denied claim, deny your
access to trusted healthcare specialists like ObGyns and cardiologists,
and reduce or eliminate mental health benefits. They may also
increase your premiums - as much and as often as they choose.
Action:
It is critical that your Senator hear from you during the
August recess. Please email your Senator today! A sample letter
opposing the bill has been posted on NASW's Congress Web to
e-mail or fax to Members of Congress. Go to: www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp
If you make a phone call, please let us know via e-mail at advocacy@naswdc.org
Urge your lawmaker to oppose S. 406, the Small Business Health
Fairness Act of 2005! To learn more about AHP legislation and
where your lawmaker stands, visit www.ProtectYourHealthcare.org.
You can make your voice heard by phone by calling your Representative
at the Capitol Switchboard, (202)224-3121.
Your voice is a powerful weapon in the fight for quality
healthcare.
During the recess, let's remind Congress what American families
need most from our health system: quality, affordable health
coverage - not bandaid solutions that cost families more and
offer less protection and less coverage for vital services.
Thank you again for your help.
Background:
AHPs offer small businesses the opportunity to join together
through trade and professional associations to collectively
purchase health benefits at lower rates than they are typically
offered individually. Current law requires AHPs to be regulated
under both federal and state law. The Small Business Fairness
Act would exempt AHPs from state laws, consumer protections,
mandated benefit laws, and other safeguards thus, significantly
increasing the risk for fraud and abuse. Recently, failures
of association-type health plans have left more than 100,000
participants nationwide with over $30 million in unpaid medical
bills. The National Association of Attorneys General warns
that a mid-1970s experiment with a similar type of plan left
at least 398,000 consumers stuck with a total of more than
$123 million in unpaid claims. "Elimination of the state
role and replacement with weak federal oversight is a bad deal
for small businesses and for consumers," they warn.
The National Governors' Association, the National Conference
of State Legislatures, many large health insurers, the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners, and NASW have strongly
opposed AHPs before Congress. Our reasoning is that, although
AHPs could reduce insurance costs for some companies with young,
healthy workers, many small businesses with older and higher
risk employees would be left behind in the regular insurance
market, facing significantly higher rates. The Congressional
Budget Office estimates that AHPs would result in higher premiums
for 80 percent of small businesses and their workers, ultimately
resulting in more uninsured Americans. |
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