Senate Bill 509, the "Health Insurance Competition and Rate Relief Act of 2006" is stuck in the Georgia Senate Committee on Insurance & Labor, chaired by Senator Ralph
Hudgens (R-SS 47). If this bill is not advanced to the House Insurance & Labor Committee by Monday afternoon, March 13, 2006, it has no chance of passing and becoming law this year. Many people have recently experienced insurance premium rate increases of more than 100%! Most Georgians can't afford this skyrocketing increase in premiums! Please contact your State Senate or House of Representatives Member and ask them to support SB 509!
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Comment: "The bill seems to make sense, but keep in mind that this consolidation occurred while John Oxendine has been Insurance Commissioner. This occurred long before the Well Point/Anthem transaction, but by John Oxendine signing off on this acquisition, Blue Cross/Blue Shield now has over 40% of the market share for health insurance policies, much higher for individuals and small businesses. BCBS increased rates for individuals and small businesses by 36% last year alone."
- Guy Drexinger,
(Democratic candidate for Insurance Commissioner) |
What does this bill do? It allows the Georgia Insurance Commissioner to declare that the insurance market in Georgia is not operating in an efficient and competitive manner when 75% or more of the policies written in the State are from the four largest insurers.
After giving notice to the insurers, the Commissioner can require each company to submit the initial filing of every accident and sickness policy written along with a rate filing, actuarial
certification, and demonstration by a qualified actuary.
Any subsequent addition or change in rates must be submitted for prior approval of any increase in premium rate.
After notifying the public and holding a public hearing, the Insurance Commissioner is authorized to make any rules or regulation necessary to establish clear standards among specific insurance product lines, establish practical filing guidelines and required formats of proposed initial and renewal premium rates, and establish limits on the maximum percentage increase in insurance
premiums that may be imposed on Georgia's insured.
What does this mean for you and me?
This bill makes one of our elected officials, the Insurance Commissioner, specifically responsible for looking out for the interests of Georgians who have accident and health insurance or are in need of accident and health insurance...you and me, the consumers.
If this bill passes, the Insurance Commissioner can decide when the insurance marketplace in Georgia is not operating as it should. Under a perfect system, the insurance marketplace would have enough insurance providers so that the competition for customers would keep costs low as each company tries to undercut its competitors with low cost/high coverage plans. In a perfect system with many competing insurers, you and I, the consumers, would be the winners because the market would not be dominated by a few big companies. We would choose who gets our insurance dollars.
We do not have a perfect system and a few big companies control the market and do not have to compete as hard for our business. You and I have fewer choices about how to spend our dollars and insurance companies can charge whatever they want for low coverage plans. This is because our only options are expensive insurance or no insurance. Sadly, many of us Georgians now find ourselves having to make this difficult choice. Ultimately, many of us must choose "no insurance."
Under SB 509, each company writing insurance policies in Georgia must file its initial premium rates with supporting documents with the Insurance Commissioner's office when he/she determines the market is broken.
If the insurance company wants to raise its premiums, those rate increases must be approved by the Insurance Commissioner! This means they have to tell someone...no more surprise rate increases!
SB 509 allows the Insurance Commissioner to make any rules or regulations he/she thinks are necessary to establish clear insurance policy standards, to establish filing and format guidelines of premium rates, and to establish limits on the maximum percentage increase in premiums that will be imposed on you and me.
Since the Insurance Commissioner will be directly responsible for looking out for you and me, he/she can be fired if we decide he/she is not doing a good job when we go to the polls on
Election Day!
What can you and I do? First, Contact the Senate Insurance & Labor Committee Members and ask them to support SB 509 so that it can get out of committee and ready for a vote!
Find their names and contact info at the legislature's
website here. Then, Contact your State Senator or State House of Representatives member and tell them you support SB 509 and ask them support it too!
Look up your State Senator or House Member here.
Finally, E-mail your friends and family and ask them to support SB 509, the "Health Insurance Competition and Rate Relief Act of 2006"!
Read the full text of the bill here.
Contact Russell
Boston
