VICA Takes Healthcare Bill Concerns to Sacramento

Valley Industry and Commerce Association’s Healthcare Committee traveled to Sacramento to tell legislators how specific bills would impact employers and employees. “This was a unique trip in that we had a healthcare-centric agenda,” said Daymond Rice, board chairman of VICA. “It is important for employers who offer healthcare to understand exactly what it is they are offering to their employee.” Eleven committee members and VICA leaders attended the trip the week of June 21 to discuss four bills. VICA supports AB 1759, which prevents insurers from creating mid-year contract changes, and Assembly Bill 2041, which creates a tax deduction for health savings accounts. The group extended partial support for Senate Bill 890, which would require insurers of individual coverage to use standard benefit plan designs, which would be offered in five coverage choice categories. Rice said the group would support the bill if it was amended to include a greater number of plan designs, creating more choices for consumers. VICA opposed Senate Bill 364, which would result in more regulation of health care facilities through the Office of the Attorney General. The office would be required to produce a patient impact report or a negative declaration whenever a general acute care hospital proposes to change its management structure from nonprofit status to for-profit status. A report would also be required when a nonprofit general acute care hospital proposes to establish a medical foundation. The reports would be used to determine whether the hospitals could make the conversions. “The bill … seems to add regulation on top of existing regulation, and at the end of the day, we saw little to no value in it,” Rice said. “As a general principle, increased regulation tends to have the net impact of increasing the cost of doing business in California, regardless of what industry you operate in.” Those attending the trip included representatives from L/B/W Insurance & Financial Services, Inc., Valley Community Clinic, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, Pacific Federal Insurance Corporation, Hospital Association of Southern California and VICA staff.