A House Committee on Tuesday approved a bill to allow the Alabama Farmers Federation to offer health coverage, but not before adding several amendments adding more robust protections to the law.
Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, fought to keep the bill as written, arguing that the original version of the bill already exceeded the 10 other states who offer a similar program.
The bill would give ALFA the opportunity to offer cheaper health insurance to farmers who often find themselves in a gap with high costs.
The amendments reflect many of the requests of the hospital and insurance industries. The changes to the bill include:
- coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorder services including behavioral health treatment
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coverage for prescription drugs
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protection against cancellation, nonrenewal, modification, or increase in premium for reason of a medical event
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enforcement by the Department of Insurance
- emergency out-of-network coverage
Ted Hosp, executive director of governmental affairs for Blue Cross Blue Shield, last week resigned himself to the inevitable passage of the bill, but strongly condemned the proposed health plans for skirting insurance regulations.
“Most important, they will not be required to cover people with pre existing conditions like cancer survivors or people with diabetes and high blood pressure, we think it’s a mistake to allow just one company to sell an unregulated health insurance plan, operated entirely out of Tennessee, using United Health Insurance to make decisions on which claims will be paid and which will be denied.”
Most, if not all, of Hosp’s recommended amendments were added to the bill through amendment.
The bill now moves forward for consideration by the full House of Representatives, but does not appear on the proposed special order calendar for Wednesday.
