Health Care, Union Coalition Issues Call to Arms Against Small Business Health Plan Legislation

A coalition of labor unions, health care and consumer groups is urging Americans to join a grassroots campaign to defeat a controversial health care bill scheduled for Senate consideration in early May. The proposed legislation, S.1955, would deregulate the health insurance market and gut state patient protection laws – leaving millions of patients without crucial health benefits like mammograms and prenatal care.

“A decision on this bill is only weeks away, so time is of the essence,” said Jerome McAndrews, DC, spokesman for the American Chiropractic Association, a member of the coalition. “S. 1955 would thwart years of state efforts to ensure that consumers have adequate health insurance coverage – yet it has received surprisingly little attention and many Americans have no idea how severely their health care benefits could be affected. As important as expanding health insurance coverage is, particularly in the small business market, it is also important for such coverage to reliably secure patients’ healthcare services.”

The bill, also known as the “Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act” or HIMMA, attempts to expand health care access and reduce insurance costs through the creation of small business health plans. These plans, frequently called association health plans, offer insurance coverage purchased through non-profit organizations on behalf of the small businesses that make up their memberships.

However, if passed, the bill would take the unprecedented path of preempting state insurance laws. As a result, insurance companies and small business owners, rather than locally elected policymakers, would decide which benefits consumers should have when they purchase health care. States would have no recourse to protect residents and they would lose their incentives to enact consumer protection laws in the future.

Moreover, S. 1955 also would preempt stronger state laws that limit the ability of insurers to vary premiums based on health status, age, gender and geography. For many older Americans and those with complex health needs and disabilities, this would price them out of the health insurance market.

The diverse coalition opposing S.1955 includes groups such as the American Diabetes Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer Society, the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers and many others.

A list of coalition members opposing S.1955 can be found at http://acatoday.org/pdf/Groups-Opposed.pdf. For more information on S.1955, visit the American Chiropractic Association’s Web site at http://www.acatoday.org.