SB 440, which would create the Silver State Exchange, had its first
hearing on March 18 in the Finance Committee, but no action to advance
the measure was taken.
NEW JERSEY: Last week the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) announced that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey has officially withdrawn its application to convert to a for-profit entity.
In the final round of public budget hearings, the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services (OLS) and State Treasurer, Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff, testified that state revenue is now expected to exceed forecast by $600 to $900 million due to higher income tax collection. This was welcome news as the legislature and the Christie Administration wrestle with various program cuts under the current budget proposal. Leadership in the legislature has called for restoration of property tax rebates and reconsideration of the proposed changes to the Medicaid program. It has been reported the Administration is seeking to change Medicaid eligibility to 33 percent of the federal poverty level. Democratic legislators have come out en masse opposing this change.
NEW YORK: James Wrynn will be the deputy superintendent for Insurance under the Department of Financial Services (DFS) after the consolidation of the New York State Insurance Department, of which he is currently superintendent, with the Banking Department. Benjamin Lawsky was nominated to be the superintendent of the DFS. At packed confirmation hearings, Lawsky appeared before the Senate Insurance Committee and then the Senate Banking Committee. Lawsky said he understands that prior approval has become "overly politicized." He said he would make addressing this his "number one priority." He also said he planned to meet with all stakeholders on this issue in the coming months. He was unanimously approved by both Insurance and Banking Committees but must still appear before the Senate Finance Committee for its approval.
The NYS Department of Insurance held public hearings on exchanges that reports say were not well attended. The New York Health Plan Association testified that the success of any health insurance exchange boils down to the affordability of coverage it can offer. The HPA said the best way to preserve affordability is through an independent authority, which could be created by passing very limited exchange legislation before the end of the legislative session. Such legislation could establish the governance and infrastructure of the exchange and charge it with conducting research to make recommendations regarding the policy issues that need to be addressed by 2014. A key issue to address is how to ensure that the exchange is financially sustainable by 2015, as the law requires.
NORTH CAROLINA: Legislation implementing an Exchange Advisory Board met with some consumer opposition last week. Opposition centered mostly on the way in which the exchange will be funded.
OKLAHOMA: In the final week of the legislative session, leadership in both chambers announced the formation of a special joint legislative committee to study how the new federal health care law affects Oklahoma. Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman and House Speaker Kris Steele ordered the formation of the joint committee and announced that "studying this issue in more depth makes for healthy legislative process. The scope of this law is vast, so we need to make sure we are prepared to address this law in a conservative way that is best for Oklahoma." The committee will have bipartisan membership. The joint committee will hold a series of public meetings over the legislative interim focusing on how the ACA affects Oklahoma. The committee will also explore how to best approach the law as the state awaits the outcome of its lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality. The committee will then make recommendations on how the state should address the federal health care law.
As a result, legislation that would create an Oklahoma health insurance exchange will not be heard this year.
TEXAS: The health care collaboratives that would be set up by pending legislation (Senate Bill 8) authored by Senate Health and Human Services Chair Jane Nelson are intended to promote higher quality of care at lower cost. The collaboratives would allow groups of providers, such as hospitals and doctors, to bargain collectively with the people who pay them. The goal is to give providers more leverage in price negotiations with an eye to cutting overall health care costs. But staff at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) say giving these collaboratives antitrust protection could have the opposite effect and could harm consumers. Staffers have flagged this key provision of the Lieutenant Governor's health care agenda for the session, indicating that a tool intended to improve the efficiency and quality of care in Texas might in actuality "lead to dramatically increased costs and decreased access to health care for Texas consumers." To get around any antitrust issues, SB 8 specifically gives collaboratives exemption from antitrust laws. The bill is in the final stages of passage and could be headed to the House floor at some point in the last 10 days of the legislative session.
Meanwhile, uncertainty hung over the Texas Capitol at the end of last week as budget negotiators worked to bridge the gulf between the House and Senate spending plans and avert a special legislative session. What had been a $5 billion difference Wednesday was narrowed to a few hundred million dollars as the House agreed to the Senate's proposal on public education. To help pay for the $3 billion added into the budget, the House relies on the $1.2 billion of additional state revenue announced by Comptroller Susan Combs this week. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he was optimistic that a deal was in the offing. Negotiators are taking it down to the wire trying to complete their work by the end of the legislative session on May 30.
WISCONSIN: The Wisconsin Office of Free Market Health Care's (OFMHC) survey to gather stakeholder input on the design of a potential Wisconsin Health Insurance Exchange closed last week. Now, the OFMHC will develop its plan for the exchange. OFMHC has been tasked to design and implement a Wisconsin Health Insurance Exchange that utilizes a free-market, consumer driven approach.
NEW JERSEY: Last week the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) announced that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey has officially withdrawn its application to convert to a for-profit entity.
In the final round of public budget hearings, the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services (OLS) and State Treasurer, Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff, testified that state revenue is now expected to exceed forecast by $600 to $900 million due to higher income tax collection. This was welcome news as the legislature and the Christie Administration wrestle with various program cuts under the current budget proposal. Leadership in the legislature has called for restoration of property tax rebates and reconsideration of the proposed changes to the Medicaid program. It has been reported the Administration is seeking to change Medicaid eligibility to 33 percent of the federal poverty level. Democratic legislators have come out en masse opposing this change.
NEW YORK: James Wrynn will be the deputy superintendent for Insurance under the Department of Financial Services (DFS) after the consolidation of the New York State Insurance Department, of which he is currently superintendent, with the Banking Department. Benjamin Lawsky was nominated to be the superintendent of the DFS. At packed confirmation hearings, Lawsky appeared before the Senate Insurance Committee and then the Senate Banking Committee. Lawsky said he understands that prior approval has become "overly politicized." He said he would make addressing this his "number one priority." He also said he planned to meet with all stakeholders on this issue in the coming months. He was unanimously approved by both Insurance and Banking Committees but must still appear before the Senate Finance Committee for its approval.
The NYS Department of Insurance held public hearings on exchanges that reports say were not well attended. The New York Health Plan Association testified that the success of any health insurance exchange boils down to the affordability of coverage it can offer. The HPA said the best way to preserve affordability is through an independent authority, which could be created by passing very limited exchange legislation before the end of the legislative session. Such legislation could establish the governance and infrastructure of the exchange and charge it with conducting research to make recommendations regarding the policy issues that need to be addressed by 2014. A key issue to address is how to ensure that the exchange is financially sustainable by 2015, as the law requires.
NORTH CAROLINA: Legislation implementing an Exchange Advisory Board met with some consumer opposition last week. Opposition centered mostly on the way in which the exchange will be funded.
OKLAHOMA: In the final week of the legislative session, leadership in both chambers announced the formation of a special joint legislative committee to study how the new federal health care law affects Oklahoma. Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman and House Speaker Kris Steele ordered the formation of the joint committee and announced that "studying this issue in more depth makes for healthy legislative process. The scope of this law is vast, so we need to make sure we are prepared to address this law in a conservative way that is best for Oklahoma." The committee will have bipartisan membership. The joint committee will hold a series of public meetings over the legislative interim focusing on how the ACA affects Oklahoma. The committee will also explore how to best approach the law as the state awaits the outcome of its lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality. The committee will then make recommendations on how the state should address the federal health care law.
As a result, legislation that would create an Oklahoma health insurance exchange will not be heard this year.
TEXAS: The health care collaboratives that would be set up by pending legislation (Senate Bill 8) authored by Senate Health and Human Services Chair Jane Nelson are intended to promote higher quality of care at lower cost. The collaboratives would allow groups of providers, such as hospitals and doctors, to bargain collectively with the people who pay them. The goal is to give providers more leverage in price negotiations with an eye to cutting overall health care costs. But staff at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) say giving these collaboratives antitrust protection could have the opposite effect and could harm consumers. Staffers have flagged this key provision of the Lieutenant Governor's health care agenda for the session, indicating that a tool intended to improve the efficiency and quality of care in Texas might in actuality "lead to dramatically increased costs and decreased access to health care for Texas consumers." To get around any antitrust issues, SB 8 specifically gives collaboratives exemption from antitrust laws. The bill is in the final stages of passage and could be headed to the House floor at some point in the last 10 days of the legislative session.
Meanwhile, uncertainty hung over the Texas Capitol at the end of last week as budget negotiators worked to bridge the gulf between the House and Senate spending plans and avert a special legislative session. What had been a $5 billion difference Wednesday was narrowed to a few hundred million dollars as the House agreed to the Senate's proposal on public education. To help pay for the $3 billion added into the budget, the House relies on the $1.2 billion of additional state revenue announced by Comptroller Susan Combs this week. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he was optimistic that a deal was in the offing. Negotiators are taking it down to the wire trying to complete their work by the end of the legislative session on May 30.
WISCONSIN: The Wisconsin Office of Free Market Health Care's (OFMHC) survey to gather stakeholder input on the design of a potential Wisconsin Health Insurance Exchange closed last week. Now, the OFMHC will develop its plan for the exchange. OFMHC has been tasked to design and implement a Wisconsin Health Insurance Exchange that utilizes a free-market, consumer driven approach.
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