MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION

Date: June 08, 2010
Bill:Bill: A5324 (Maisel)/S4775 (Fuschillo)

Requires coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of lymphedema

The Employer Alliance for Affordable Health Care is a grassroots coalition of more than 3,000 sole proprietors and small and medium-sized business owners who represent more than 150,000 working New Yorkers. We believe that everyone should have access to basic, affordable health insurance and oppose health insurance mandates that increase premium costs and decrease accessibility of basic, affordable health insurance. Many of New York’s small businesses are being forced to drop coverage due to increasing premium costs. The Legislature should refrain from this, or any type of action that could, increase prices even higher for all, especially when benefiting a select few.

We oppose this measure for the following reasons:

• This measure, like all mandates, will incrementally increase premium costs. New Yorkers pay 26% more than the national average for health care. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2000)
• Higher health care costs increase the number of uninsured. In New York, it is estimated that for every 1% increase in premiums, 30,000 New Yorkers lose health insurance. (Barents Group, 1999)
• Mandates increase premium costs, Currently, fully-insured New Yorkers pay 14.2% of total annual premiums to cover New York’s 51 mandated benefits. (Health Insurance Mandates in New York State 2003/NovaRest Consulting and Report by the Superintendent of Insurance on the Cost and Effectiveness of New York’s 2006 Mental Health Parity Legislation).
• State mandates primarily affect small employers and the self-employed who purchase private insurance for themselves and their families. That is because most large employers self-insure under federal law, making state mandates inapplicable to their benefit package.
• In 2007, you approved the Health Care Quality and Cost Containment Commission. Let this entity do its work and refrain from passing this or any other health insurance mandate until this commission is seated and operational. This body will provide valuable information on cost and medically necessity to aid your decision-making process.

We ask you to oppose this legislation

The Employer Alliance for Affordable Health Care is a coalition of more than 3,400 employers and individuals from across New York, representing more than 200,000 working New Yorkers, committed to preserving quality affordable health care.