MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION
Bill: A.11586 ≠ An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to
mandating child abuse medical services at child advocacy centers.
The Employer Alliance
for Affordable Health Care, a
coalition of nearly 2,100 New York employers and premium payers committed to
keeping health care in New York affordable, supports a moratorium on all health
insurance mandates. The high cost
of health care in New York continues to climb at two to three times the rate of
inflation. Accordingly, the Employer Alliance opposes A.11586 because it will further increase the cost of health insurance at a time
when the rate of New Yorkπs employer-based health insurance continues to erode.
The impact of increasing
health care costs in New York is evident in the stateπs stubbornly high rate of
uninsured. According to the United
Hospital Fund, of the more than 3 million New Yorkers with no insurance, 63% work
full-time. This suggests that health insurance
affordability is at the root of New Yorkπs stubbornly high rate of
uninsured. New York is facing a
crisis that demands legislative initiatives to enhance access to insurance ≠
not more mandates like A.11586 that exacerbate costs and reduce coverage options
for employers and employees alike.
Like
all mandates A.11586 has costs
that will further impact premiums. But perhaps more disconcerting is the bald
attempt to off-load costs to private insurance payers, for criminal or family
protective services that are more appropriately shared by society. Merely shifting non-health care related
services to a limited and shrinking base of premium payers is not the
answer. It will simply drive the
cost of health care higher, increase the number of uninsured, weaken community
rating by driving employers to self-insure and undermine economic
recovery.
Today,
New York has more than 100 mandated benefit bills under consideration. However, unlike nearly 25 other states,
we have no process to evaluate these proposals for cost or medical efficacy. Over the next few days, both houses may
vote on additional mandates including mental health parity and early
intervention (another proposal that seeks to shift public responsibility to
private insurance payers).
Cumulatively, if enacted, these bills could account for hundreds of
millions in additional premiums annually. For premium payers
already suffering from 10%-20% increases in premium this year, passage of any
measure that exacerbates this trend is unconscionable. We cannot afford this mandate or any
other mandate this year.
For
all these reasons, the Employer Alliance for Affordable Health Care urges
you to vote NO on this legislation.
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Employer Alliance For Affordable Health Care
PO Box 1412
Albany, New York 12201-1412
(518) 462-2296
employeralliance@yahoo.com
www.employeralliance.com
Scott Miller, Chairman
6/2004
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