MEMORANDUM
IN SUPPORT
Bill: S.1447 ≠ An Act to amend the insurance law and the
legislative law in relation to creating the New York Health Benefit and Cost Commission.
The Employer Alliance for
Affordable Health Care is a
grassroots coalition of 2,000 employers and individuals committed to keeping
health care in New York affordable. S.1447 seeks to establish a more rational
approach to legislating health insurance mandates by creating the New York
Health Benefit and Cost Commission that in part would provide the Legislature
with cost/efficacy studies for health insurance mandate proposals prior to
legislative consideration. We enthusiastically support its passage.
Health care coverage
continues to be a critical concern for businesses statewide, especially for
small business owners. In an
October 2003 editorial, the Wall Street Journal noted that health insurance ≥mandates hurt those who
can least afford it. Large
employers that ≥self-insure≤ are exempt from state mandates under the 1974
Employee Retirement and Income Security Act (ERISA). Instead, the burden falls on small business and the
self-employed.≤ How
severely? The Employer Alliance
released a landmark study last year, which concluded that mandated benefits in
New York cost every policyholder 12.2% of premium ≠ or more than $1,000 for a
family policy. With health care
costs rising well above the rate of inflation the past four years, its no
wonder that maintaining health insurance coverage has become the leading concern for businesses in New
York.
The need for this
legislation is critical. Every
mandate comes with costs. Some
employers are fortunate and can absorb these costs ≠ but others are forced to
either pass these costs onto employees in the form of lower wages or higher
health insurance contributions.
Unfortunately, still others are faced with prospect of dropping health
insurance altogether. For the more
than three million New Yorkers with no health care coverage ≠ the prospect of
being able to find affordable coverage is growing more remote. We believe
that the first step to keeping coverage affordable is to pass mandate relief
legislation. This will ensure that any mandate passed in this
state will not undermine efforts being made to expand insurance coverage
opportunities.
Health insurance mandate
commissions as envisioned under this legislation are not a new concept. Nearly 25 states including our
immediate neighbors Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont and most recently
Massachusetts require a cost/efficacy analysis for health insurance mandate
bills. The goal of S.1447 is to
ensure that lawmakers have the information they need to ascertain the value of
each mandate proposal and determine the appropriateness of legislating such coverage. For businesses struggling to maintain coverage,
this proposal is long overdue.
Never has the need for this
legislation been more critical.
Vote YES on S.1447.
5/2004
Employer Alliance for Affordable Health
Care
PO Box 1412
Albany, New York 12201-1412
Phone:
(518) 462-2296
Scott
Miller, Chair
Website: www.employeralliance.com
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