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Minutes for HB2056 - Committee on Insurance
Short Title
Exempting health plans issued to associations of small employers from certain statutory provisions governing small employer health plans.
Minutes Content for Wed, Jan 30, 2019
Chairperson Vickrey opened the hearing on HB 2056.
Revisor Ma briefed the members on the bill (Attachment 14)
Sunee Mickle provided additional oral testimony to her previous testimony in support of the bill. She said this bill and the related AHP bills worked together as part of the whole law .
Mark Dugan previously provided testimony in support of the bill and related AHP bills.
Jason P. Watkins provided written testimony in support of the bill. He said the Wichita Chamber members represented a wide array of businesses and non-for-profits with the majority of them employing less than 50 people. He said the current law allowed offering association plans but if a single member employed fewer than 50 people then the entire group must be rated at the small group rate which raised the premiums to untenable levels. He said the bill and the related AHP bills would fix their concerns and allowed a better health plan outcome.
Scott Schneider provided previous written testimony in support of the bill and related AHP bills. He said any action that allowed members access to fully-insured health plans offered by the National Restaurant Association would be a major benefit to their employees.
Kristi Brown previously provided written testimony in support of the bill and related AHP bills.
Ken White previously testified in support of the bill and the related AHP bills.
Hugh Carter provided written testimony in support of the bill. He said the bill was part of a package of legislation that would enable Chambers of Commerce to offer health plans to their small employer members, making health insurance available to a much larger percentage of the state workforce (Attachment 15).
The Chambers of Commerce of Manhattan, Emporia, Topeka and Lawrence (METL) provided written testimony in support of the bill. They said the METL Coalition served as a regional voice for their nearly 3,000 members. The bill would enable the Chambers to offer health plans to their small employer members, making health insurance available to a much larger percentage of the Kansas workforce (Attachment 16)
Alicia Holloway, Wichita Independent Business Association provided written testimony in support of the bill She said their association represents hundreds of independent business in Wichita and across the state. One of the top expenses for WIBA members and small business owner is health care. Allowing association health plans will help reduce the cost to members. (Attachment 17)
There being no other proponents, Chairperson Vickrey asked if there were any opponents to the bill.
Jordan Feuerborn provided written testimony in opposition of the bill. She said the bill and the related AHP bills would segment the insurance market, drive up premiums and make it harder for cancer patients and survivors to find health insurance. She added that the Cancer Action Network supported state legislation to require AHPs to follow all coverage requirements and protections in ACA-compliant plans (Attachment 18).
There being no other opponents, the chairperson asked if there was any testimony neutral to the bill.
Lee Modesitt previously provided testimony neutral to the bill and related AHP bills.
Will Larson previously provided written testimony neutral to the bill and related AHP bills.
There being no other testimony, Chairperson Vickrey opened the meeting for member questions.
Representative Dierks asked opponent conferee Jordan Feuerborn why they had a concern about the bill. Ms. Feuerborn answered that they have previously opposed AHP legislation because it could promote products that did not provide comprehensive coverage and did not contain the protections of ACA-compliant plans.
There being no more questions, Chairperson Vickrey closed the hearing on HB 2056.
There being no other matters, the chairperson adjourned the meeting at 4:23 p.m.
