Dan Juneau: "Insurance mandates drive up health-care costs"
15 04 08 - 11:49
Sometimes it is true that the more things change, the more they remain the same. That may be the case with our new Legislature and the issue of health insurance mandates.
Many employers and their employees find it difficult to pay the ever-increasing cost of health insurance. One culprit forcing insurance premiums upward is when our Legislature mandates that any policy written must cover certain conditions, services and procedures. The providers of these services and products are often the impetus for the legislation. No single mandate causes premiums to soar but, collectively, they add significantly to the cost and, as costs go up, premiums increase. Higher costs force those who are insured into higher deductibles, greater co-pays and less coverage. The irony of mandates is that they reduce the basic coverage of those who are insured to provide specialty coverage for others.
In 2003, then-Rep. Dan Morrish passed a moratorium on new health insurance mandates. The legislation was an acknowledgement that the Legislature had gone too far in the mandate arena. Unfortunately, it was ignored by the Legislature that passed it and Louisiana now has 24 mandates on the books, each creating an additional expense to health care policies in Louisiana.
Members of our Legislature have introduced 11 bills that would mandate additions to policies that run the gamut from fertility treatments to marriage counseling. Some expand mandates already on the books, and others create new ones. Each would allow vendors of products or providers of services to bill insurance companies directly. That cost is then passed on to policyholders.
The National Federation of Independent Business estimates that, for every 1 percent increase in health insurance costs, 20,000 employees lose coverage. Unfortunately, individuals who will later lose all or part of their health insurance aren't in the legislative committees when mandate bills are heard, because they are unaware of what is about to happen. Legislators hear from those who want specialty coverage but not from those who may lose even primary care due to escalating premiums.
If our Legislature wanted to address the problem of citizens going without health insurance, instead of passing more mandates it would eliminate some and adopt laws that would allow companies to provide mandate-free policies for their employees. If companies can't afford to provide health insurance coverage today, adding more mandates only makes matters worse. The Legislature's past actions regarding mandates has been counterintuitive. It remains to be seen whether the new kids on the block will put sound policy above politics and stop the mandate train from rolling any farther.
Daniel L. Juneau is president of the Louisiana Association of Business & Industry.