We urge our Congressional delegation to proceed with caution as they prepare to vote on one measure that would expand patients’ rights to sue their health plans for unlimited damages, and on another, which would significantly expand the current mandates on mental health benefits.
The patients’ rights provision, if approved, could cause many employers to drop health coverage, according to Kate Sullivan, of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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“It’s simple health care economics: making employer health plans fair game for trail lawyers will increase the cost of those plans and chill employers’ willingness to risk lawsuits, which add up to less coverage,” she said.
The expansion of mental health benefits is estimated to increase costs 4.2 percent for some health plans, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber also points out that America’s employers are facing record double-digit health care inflation this year (11 percent), the highest rate of increase in nearly a decade. Small business owners are expected to be among the hardest hit (16.5 percent).
Escalating health insurance costs and a slowing economy inevitably will lead to companies either requiring employees to increase their contributions, or the elimination of health care coverage.
Taking such a step back would be unfortunate, particularly given some recent and encouraging news from the Census Bureau. According to the Census Bureau, the number of Americans without health coverage dropped for the second consecutive year, by 600,000 from 1999 to 2000 because of expansions in employer-provided coverage.
Continuing that trend much longer seems unlikely.
If these proposals would in fact increase health insurance costs for nation’s businesses, than Congress should defeat them.
