News

Pa. health care

June 18, 2008

Consumer advocacy gets boost

Backed by House committee, bill to have health-care advocate moves on.

HARRISBURG – A bill to create a state health-care consumer advocate overwhelmingly passed in the House of Representatives’ Insurance Committee on Tuesday signaling its favorable chances of being passed in the House next week.

Introduced by Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, House Bill 1121 would create the consumer advocate office within the Attorney General’s office and empower it to investigate health-insurance issues on the behalf of customers.

Rep. Eddie Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, the only local legislator on the committee, voted in favor of the bill. It passed 23 to 6.

Past legislation, Pashinski said, has empowered the industry at the expense of consumers. A knowledgeable investigator examining proposed insurance rate increases would “basically hold their (insurance companies’) feet to the fire to be as prudent and efficient as possible,” he said.

The industry questions the necessity of the office, saying it duplicates powers available to the state Insurance Department and, in the end, could make coverage even less affordable for the uninsured.

The office’s $2-million budget would be paid by insurers, who pass on expenses to customers.

A single advocate for all the various consumer situations creates too blunt an instrument, according to Samuel Marshall, the president of the lobbying group Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania.

Yudichak said the industry’s costs to finance the office would be “minimal.” Beyond consumer advocacy, the office would provide policy research useful to legislators when crafting other cost-controlling insurance bills and reduce “knee-jerk” legislative reactions to consumers’ problems.

He noted it was the first time the bill had been voted through committee and didn’t have to be attached as an amendment on the House floor. That, he said, was a favorable sign that it would pass and move to the Senate, perhaps as early as next week.

“As the committee vote suggests, it should pass convincingly,” he said.

Gov. Ed Rendell supports the bill as part of his “Prescription for Pennsylvania” health industry reform. “It gets to the heart of the matter,” and gives parties the ability to question rate increases, said Amy Kelchner, spokeswoman for the Governor’s Office of Health Care Reform.

The bill works in conjunction, she said, with other legislation that, would require insurance companies, before receiving rate increases, to show they utilize nurse-managed care, have instituted chronic-care programs and require hospitals to use best practices to fight hospital-acquired infections.

Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.

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