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S. 1955, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act (HIMMA), was introduced by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) and is slated for a floor vote in the U.S. Senate the week of May 8. This legislation, if enacted, will strip away almost all state-enacted consumer protections for people buying insurance individually or through their employers.
Though the bill’s alleged purpose is to make insurance affordable for small businesses, its reach is far greater than that: States will no longer be able to mandate coverage of benefits, services, or categories of providers for individuals, small groups, or large groups. Premium rating protections, enacted by states to make small group insurance more affordable to older and sicker workers, will be set aside. Insurers will be allowed to sue states that do not comply. The bill sets a ceiling on, but no floor under, what states can do to protect insurance consumers.
News: On May 10, Senator Enzi introduced a substitute version of the bill (a "Manager's Amendment"), which is available online. This new version contains most of the same problems as the earlier version. Benefit, service, and provider protections will be lost. The rules about premium rates are different from the rules in the previous version of the bill. Premiums will still go up for sicker workers in many states, and states will be limited in their ability to protect consumers.
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Information on S. 1955:
Families USA Report: The Enzi Bill: Bad Medicine for America (May 2006) | Press Release
The Lewin Group: The Impact of the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, S. 1955 on the Small Group Insurance Markets in Community Rated States [Executive Summary] (Prepared for Coalition to Protect Access to Affordable Health Insurance, May 3, 2006)
CBO Cost Estimate for S. 1955 This estimate concludes that the wholesale elimination of consumer protections will, at best, trim only 2-3 percent from the premiums of some businesses with young, healthy workers. (Congressional Budget Office, May 3, 2006)
Lessons from New Hampshire: Senate Health Bill Could Drive up Health Insurance Premiums for Many Small Businesses (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 26, 2006)
Senate Health Bill Would Preempt States' Small Group Rating Rules (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 26, 2006)
What Is The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act of 2006 (the Enzi Bill) and What Will It Mean for Connecticut? (Connecticut Health Policy Project, April 2006)
Health Insurance Regulation by States and the Federal Government: A Review of Current Approaches and Proposals for Change (Mila Kofman and Karen Pollitz, April 2006)
Table of Benefit Protections Lost, by State (Families USA, April 2006)
Families USA Health Policy Memo: Summary of S. 1955: The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act (March 23, 2006)
Families USA fact sheet: The Enzi Bill: Bad Medicine for America (March 15, 2006)
Families USA statement: Bill that Overrides State Laws that Protect Health Care Consumers Passes in Senate Committee (March 15, 2006)
Version of S 1955 as voted out by the Senate HELP Committee | New version of S 1955 being debated the week of May 8
Statements of concern or opposition by:
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Insurance commissioners from the following states:
National Conference of Insurance Legislators
National Association of Attorneys General (letter signed by 41 AGs)
Alaska Native Health Board
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer
Connecticut Office of the Healthcare Advocate
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan
Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski: Press Release | Letter to Senator Wyden
Washington Governor Christine Gregoire
Letter from 12 Governors
Letter from Four Massachusetts Health Plan CEOs to Gov. Mitt Romney
And by the following organizations and individuals:
Letter from National Organizations Opposed to S. 1955
List of Organizations, Health Plans and State Officials Opposed to S. 1955 (list compiled by the National Partnership for Women and Families)
AARP News Release: Health Insurance Marketplace Bill Will Harm Older Workers (April 6, 2006)
Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness, Inc. Letter to Senator Dodd (March 14, 2006)
American Chiropractic Association Press Release: Health Care, Union Coalition Issues Call to Arms Against Small Business Health Plan Legislation (April 13, 2006)
American Cancer Society Letter to the Senate declaring that the bill is "fatally flawed" and should be opposed regardless of any amendments. (May 10, 2006)
American Cancer Society Letter to the Senate (March 7, 2006)
American Diabetes Association Letter to the Senate stating that the bill is "fundamentally flawed" and should be opposed "no matter which cosmetic changes may be proposed on the Floor." (May 9, 2006)
American Diabetes Association Letter to the Senate (April 25, 2006)
American Diabetes Association Fact Sheet: Enzi Health Insurance Legislation Jeopardizes State Diabetes Protections and Harms People with Diabetes
American Diabetes Association News Release: Enzi Health Insurance Legislation Would Jeopardize Lifesaving Coverage Protections for Millions with Diabetes
American Medical Association: S. 1955 the "Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act of 2006," Sponsored by Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY)
American Nurses Association Letter to the Senate (May 10, 2006)
American Nurses Association Letter to the Senate (March 10, 2006)
American Psychological Association Practice Organization: HIMMA Sweeps Away State Mental Health Protections (May 10, 2006)
American Psychological Association Practice Organization: HIMMA Sweeps Away State Mental Health Protections (March 2006)
Breast Cancer Action (May 5, 2006)
California Medical Association Letter to Senator Enzi (April 18, 2006)
Catalyst Center: Mandated Benefits: Essential to Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights News Release: NFIB Stands to Make $100 Million a Year from Enzi Junk Insurance Bill (April 28, 2006)
Guttmacher Institute List of Contraceptive Coverage Mandates, State by State
Letter from Mila Kofman, Georgetown University, to Senator Kennedy about rate rules in the Manager's Amendment to S. 1955 (May 10, 2006)
Mental Health Liaison Group Letter to the Senate (April 12, 2006)
National Mental Health Association News Release: So-Called "Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act" Bad for America's Health (April 6, 2006)
National Partnership for Women & Families: S. 1955: Claims Don't Meet Reality
National Partnership for Women & Families Talking Points: S. 1955: The Wrong Prescription for Cost and Coverage
National Women's Law Center Resources on HIMMA/S. 1955
Planned Parenthood: Women Will Lose Health Care Benefits They Depend on Under S.1955
Small Business Majority Letter to Senate HELP Committee
Washington State Hospital Association Letter to Senator Patty Murray
Editorials:
Healthcare Bill Seeks to Preempt State Laws, Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times (April 6, 2006)
Now the bloggers add their voices:
Congress shouldn't take away diabetics' health tools, by R. Stewart Perry, posted on Diabetes Advocacy Blog, April 3, 2006.
S. 1955 -- Take Action Now, by Kerri, posted on Six Until Me blog, March 31, 2006.
Check back often—we'll be updating this page as developments unfold.
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