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Minutes for HB2053 - Committee on Insurance
Short Title
Providing for short-term, limited-duration health plans.
Minutes Content for Wed, Jan 22, 2020
Chairperson Vickrey opened the hearing on HB 2053. Eileen Ma, Assistant Revisor of Statutes, provided an overview of the bill (Attachment 1).
Melissa Panettiere testified in support of the bill. She said Blue Cross & Blue Shield had seen a demand for short-term coverage policies. She also discussed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) disclosure language (Attachment 2).
David Powell testified in support of the bill. He gave background on short-term policies and said they provided lower-cost coverage for persons who might not be able to purchase insurance in the ACA marketplace (Attachment 3).
Kristi Brown testified in support of the bill. She said it was good to have other choices in the health insurance marketplace for Kansans (Attachment 4).
Beverly Gossage testified in support of the bill. She said the short-term plans were primarily designed to fill gaps in health insurance coverage. Further, they were another option for more costly ACA marketplace policies (Attachment 5).
Mark Dugan provided written testimony in support of the bill (Attachment 6).
The members questioned the conferees including: conditions that may or may not be covered by such policies, deductible and premium costs, the length and extension of a policy's term, persons who would benefit from short-term care policies, the ability to add coverage (such as prescription), whether such policies fell under jurisdiction of the Insurance Department and the disclosure language.
Courtney Eiterich testified in opposition to the bill. She said the policies discriminated against people with chronic conditions, might not cover drug costs and would leave persons, especially lower-income persons, under-insured. She recommended disclosure of what the policies would not cover (Attachment 7).
Dana Bacon testified in opposition to the bill. He gave examples of persons who, after diagnosis of cancer, learned treatment would not be covered under their short-term plan or be cancelled. He said such plans understated what was covered and were only affordable as long as the policyholder stayed healthy (Attachment 8).
Ashlea Konecny testified in opposition to the bill. She said unexpected medical conditions were often not covered under short-term policies, such as a cardiac emergencies or problems in pregnancy (Attachment 9).
Jordon Feuerborn testified in opposition to the bill. She said no one planned on being diagnosed with cancer or other chronic disease. If diagnosed, they might not qualify for extended coverage, their premiums costs could rise, or caps be placed on medical costs (Attachment 10).
Jeremy Deutsch provided written testimony in opposition of the bill (Attachment 11).
Sara Prem, provided written testimony in opposition of the bill (Attachment 12).
Kristen Stiffler provided written testimony in opposition of the bill (Attachment 13).
The members asked questions of the conferees including: poverty line statistics and suitability of short-term insurance policies for persons just above the poverty line.
There being no other conferees or questions, the chairperson closed the hearing on HB 2053.
Chairperson Vickrey adjourned the meeting at 4:40 p.m.
