SHB 1685 -
By Representative Bailey
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds and declares that
there has been an ongoing controversy over the costs and benefits of
existing health care coverage statutory requirements and their effect
on health care insurance costs. It is for this reason that an
unbiased, independent actuarial study of existing health care coverage
statutory requirements needs to be conducted. It is not the intent of
the legislature to take any actions in relation to the findings of the
study until they can be reviewed and analyzed by the legislature, in
consultation with the office of the insurance commissioner, health care
providers, health carriers, and health care purchasers.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 The office of the insurance commissioner
shall contract for an actuarial review and analysis of existing health
care coverage statutory requirements. The office of the insurance
commissioner shall:
(1) Contract with a qualified independent and impartial entity that
has not taken a public position in the past on the merits or
consequences of the adoption of health care coverage statutory
requirements;
(2) Provide that the review of health care coverage statutory
requirements include statutes that:
(a) Mandate that health carriers provide benefits for certain
conditions or services;
(b) Prohibit discrimination between health care provider groups who
deliver services that are included in a health benefit plan;
(c) Establish requirements as to how a particular service or
benefit must be provided by a health carrier in its health benefit
plans; and
(d) Require health carriers to offer certain services as an option
for individuals or groups purchasing a health benefit plan;
(3) Include the following analyses in the scope of the actuarial
review:
(a) The cost of including the statutory requirements in health
benefit plans, taking into consideration the impact that covering the
statutory requirement has on the utilization of other health services,
expressed as a net premium cost or savings per member per month; and
(b) An assessment of whether market demand has already resulted in
inclusion of current statutory requirements in a significant number of
health benefit plans in states that do not have such statutory
requirements; and
(4) Submit an interim report to the governor and appropriate
committees of the legislature by December 1, 2005, and a final report
by December 1, 2006."
Correct the title.