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Minutes for SB199 - Committee on Insurance and Pensions
Short Title
Providing for short-term, limited-duration health plans.
Minutes Content for Mon, Feb 7, 2022
The Chairperson opened the hearing on SB199. Eileen Ma, Assistant Revisor, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, provided an update. (Attachment 6) Ms. Ma stood for questions.
Chairman moved to proponent testimony and welcomed the following conferees:
Senator Gossage gave proponent testimony on short-term medical plans that fill the gap for people between jobs, or until eligibility for Medicare, and she provided a review of the current law. (Attachment 7) Senator Gossage stood for questions.
Brian C. Blase PhD , President of Paragon Health Institute. Mr. Blase provided proponent testimony via Webex stating short-term medical plans would give consumers another option for protection, reduce the number of people without health insurance, and permitting these plans could improve the individual market. (Attachment 8)
Dean Clancy, Americans for Prosperity, testified via Webex that he supports SB199 because it gives people more insurance options.(Attachment 9)
Chairperson directed the committee to proponent written testimony:
Josh Archambault, Senior Fellow, Opportunity Solutions Project (Attachment 10)
Kim Quade, Private citizen (Attachment 11)
James Franko, Kansas Policy Institute (Attachment 12)
Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute, Washington DC. (Attachment 13)
Chairman called for any other proponent testimony or questions on SB199. No other proponents or questions.
Chairperson moved to opponent testimony and welcomed the following conferees:
Megan Word, Government Relations Director, American Cancer Society, Cancer Action Network. Ms. Word stated ACS CAN opposes expanding access to short-term, limited-duration plans (STLDPs); these plans may deny coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions, choose to not cover services related to those pre-existing conditions, or charge enrollees higher premiums because of their pre-existing conditions. (Attachment 14) (Attachment 15) (Attachment 16) (Attachment 17) Ms. Word stood for questions.
(Webex) Kari Rinker, Patient Advocacy Coalition, American Heart Association. Opposed SB199 because despite strong public support for basic protections and expectations of what a person should get for health coverage, these plans fall far short. (Attachment 18) Ms. Rinker stood for questions.
(Webex) Ngoc Vuong, Senior, Wichita State University & American Heart Association volunteer opposes SB199 from his experience of his father losing his job during the pandemic and transitioning to Medicare leaving Ngoc uninsured, getting covid and living with a pre-existing condition. (Attachment 19)
(Webex) Dana Bacon, Kansas Government Affairs Director, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Mr. Bacon testified that plain-language reading of SB199, combined with April 2021 guidance from the Kansas Insurance Department (KID), tells us that this legislation does nothing to compel insurers to offer guaranteed renewal on short-term plans without underwriting. (Attachment 20)
(Webex) Courtney Eiterich, Kansas Government Relations Advocacy Chair, National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Ms. Eiterich testified that while Short-term Limited Duration Health Plans can offer less costly coverage, they frequently do not adhere to important standards, including coverage for pre-existing conditions and prescription medications.(Attachment 21)
Chairperson recognized Webex testimony from Katrina Black, but was unable to connect virtually.
Opponent written only testimony:
Katrina Black, Private citizen (Attachment 22)
Dr. Dena Hubbard, Legislative Coordinator, Kansas Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (Attachment 23)
Aaron Segel, State Advocacy Specialist, Policy & Advocacy Association for Clinical Oncology (Attachment 24)
Ryan Reza, NAMI KS Policy & Advocacy Director (Attachment 25)
Sara Prem, Director of Advocacy in Kansas and Nebraska, American Lung Association In Kansas and Greater Kansas City (Attachment 26), (Attachment 27)
Larrie Ann Brown, State Government Affairs, Cigna Legal (Attachment 28)
Lisbet Finseth, Senoir Manager, Advocacy, National MS Society (Attachment 29)
Peggy Johnson, Susan G. Komen volunteer (Attachment 30
Chairperson asked for any other proponent, opponent or neutral testimony.
Seeing none, Chairperson closed the hearing on SB199 and the meeting was adjourned.
Chairperson postponed the Hearing on HB2586 to Wednesday, Feb. 9.
