A recent poll found that the No. 1 concern of Pennsylvania residents is being able to afford health care for sick family members. The Issues PA/Pew Benchmark survey determined that health care affordability is the biggest worry for 53 percent of Pennsylvanians.
You’d think the Pennsylvania legislature would be burning the midnight oil tackling an issue that’s on the minds of so many of its constituents. Wrong. The legislature has kept busy raising taxes, bringing gambling to Pennsylvania, sanctioning ghost voting and giving itself pay raises. Dealing with the skyrocketing costs of health insurance keeps falling below the radar screen of most of our esteemed politicians.
The last time anyone tried to take up the issue was during the 2003-2004 legislative session when bills were introduced in both the state House and state Senate to control the double-digit increases in premiums forced on employers and workers by the big insurance companies over the past few years.
Senate Bill 671, introduced by 10 state senators, including two from Montgomery County — Sen. Rob Wonderling, R-24th Dist. and Connie Williams, D-17th Dist. — would have gone a long way in addressing the problem.
The Pennsylvania Health Care Security Act, as SB 671 is commonly known, would have prevented the big insurance companies from using unfair rating practices to jack up premiums for smaller companies. SB 671 would have required insurance companies to develop a community rate for health benefit plans for businesses with 100 or fewer employees.
Community rating spreads risk across the carrier’s small group population, a sweeping change from the current practice of demographic rating that discriminates against numerous groups by basing premiums on factors such as the age of employees, the number of women of child-bearing years, and the type of industry. SB 671 would also place limits on the use of pre-existing condition exclusions that prevent many Pennsylvanians from getting insurance.
Companion legislation, House Bill 1891, was introduced by 66 state representatives, including Raymond Bunt Jr., R-147th Dist., Jacqueline Crahalla, R-150th Dist., Tim Hennessey, R-26th Dist., Carole Rubley, R-157th Dist. and Curt Schroder, R-155th Dist. (Mary Ann Daily, the Pottstown-Limerick area representative who retired from the state House at the end of 2004, was also one of the sponsors.)
I spent a recent afternoon with Ronald H. Black and Charles A. Laskey Jr., who operate the Ron Black Agency in Royersford. Health insurance is not the sexiest topic, but what these two veteran insurance agents had to say about the state of health insurance in Pennsylvania is troubling. Black and Laskey are not blaming anyone in particular, but they’re upset with the lack of progress being made by the Legislature to address this crisis. That will be the topic of a future column.
Senate Bill 671 was referred to the Senate’s Banking and Insurance Committee, where it has languished since April 2003. The chairman of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee is Gibson E. Armstrong, a Republican who represents parts of Lancaster and York counties. Bills don’t leave the committee until Sen. Armstrong says so. As a worker who has seen a bigger chunk of my paycheck go to cover health insurance, I’d like to know why our state representatives are not doing something about it.
Maybe you’d like to ask Sen. Armstrong the same question. Here’s how to contact him: Gibson E. Armstrong, Senate Box 203013, Harrisburg, PA 17120-3013; Toll-free telephone: 1-800-235-1313. E-mail address: garmstrong@pasen.gov
House Bill 1891 was referred to the House Insurance Committee in August 2003. That’s where it died. The chairman of the House Insurance Committee is Nicholas A. Micozzie, R-Dist. 163. Here’s where to reach him: 6 South Springfield Road, Clifton Heights, PA, 19018. Telephone: 610-259-2820. You can also e-mail him at his Web site: www.RepMicozzie.com
These two committees should be looking out for the residents of Pennsylvania. Legislation to contain the skyrocketing costs of health insurance should be passed without delay.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
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