New
Survey’s Support For Suing Health Plans Is Suspect
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 1999
CONTACT: Richard Coorsh
(202) 824-1787
The following statement was released today by Donald A. Young, M.D.,
Chief Operating Officer and Medical Director with the Health Insurance
Association of America (HIAA):
A new survey of employer-sponsored health coverage – released today by
the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust
– finds that 3 out of 5 employers favor allowing patients to sue their
health plan. We believe that this finding is suspect in the extreme for
three reasons. First, every major business trade association indicates
that expanding liability against health plans would cause employers either
to reduce benefits, or drop coverage altogether.
Second, representatives from the Kaiser Family Foundation admit that
the survey released today did not ask whether employers would drop
coverage if faced with increased premiums due to expanded liability. They
also indicate that previous surveys that they have released show a decline
in support for expanded liability when employers are confronted by the
prospect of paying higher coverage costs. Third, the survey was conducted
earlier this year, when relatively few employers were likely to know that
Congressional proposals to expand liability also would expose employers to
lawsuits.
On another front, the extent of coverage documented by today’s survey
offers compelling testimony to the wisdom of retaining and improving the
employer-based health coverage system to increase the number of insured
Americans. The survey indicates that the percentage of employers in 1999
that provided health coverage for employees, and their dependents, is
roughly the same as it was in 1998. We interpret this finding to show that
overall, employers have been willing and able to continue to provide
health coverage, in spite of higher costs due to medical care cost
inflation, and cost increases resulting from additional government
mandates.
The employer-based health coverage system provides excellent value to
consumers because it has produced high quality, affordable coverage for
152 million Americans. Nevertheless, there remain a significant number of
employers – primarily smaller businesses – that operate on margin, and
that cannot afford the cost of coverage. HIAA’s "InsureUSA" proposal
recognizes their plight, and calls for tax enhancements to expand
coverage. Additionally, "InsureUSA" would bring about reforms to enable
the roughly 3 out of 5 uninsured Americans who are poor – or who work for
businesses that do not provide coverage – either to better afford private
coverage, or to obtain public coverage.
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