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Minutes for SB387 - Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance
Short Title
Establishing a healthcare benefits package not covered or affiliated with a health insurer or health benefits plan, to be administered by Kansas state employees healthcare commission.
Minutes Content for Thu, Feb 20, 2020
Chairman Olson opened the hearing on the bill and called upon Eileen Ma for a Revisor of Statutes overview of the bill. Mr. Nguyen called for innovations to make healthcare benefits more transparent and affordable. He asserted that the burden of rising healthcare benefit costs has been "cost-shifted" to the consumer and employer. He emphasized that a major problem is the lack of transparency to the consumer. He explained how "fee for service" models promote "quantity of care" over "quality of care." He introduced Partrick Sulzberger for a component of the solution in containing healthcare benefit costs.
Mr. Sulzberger also emphasized the lack of price transparency and independent care navigation advice for consumers as the major obstacles to cost containment of healthcare benefit costs. He expressed support for the bill because it facilitated the following benefits:
- It promotes price transparent service "bundles" versus "ala-carte billing."
- It improves accountability for costs versus outcomes.
- It empowers employers to offer real incentives for employees to use quality value-based healthcare providers.
- It bundles all costs of a procedure into one bill (all costs included within 90 day period).
- It provides for nurse-based independent care navigation advocacy for the patient.
Mr. Sulzberger emphasized that the process that the bill encourages would not involve a change in insurance carrier or TPA. He introduced CaRessa Hutchinson to explain how nurse-based advocacy combined with consumer transparency would allow employers and employees to leverage a tele-medicine application to promote significant healthcare cost containment.
After committee questions, Chairman Olson closed the hearing on the bill.
