Monday, April 22, 2013

Beating back ObamaCare on state and federal fronts

They laughed at us last year when we suggested fighting ObamaCare with religious health sharing groups. This spring, though, we reversed a decade long persecution of Christian Medishare by Kentucky insurance bureaucrats and politicians by literally forcing passage of Senate Bill 3.

We have two more things to do to secure the existence of a free market escape hatch from ObamaCare in case we aren't able to completely dismantle it by other means. First, we need a bill for the 2014 Kentucky General Assembly to finish the job started by Senate Bill 3.

I have written a bill for the 2014 General Assembly that gives consumers legal rights if their health sharing group goes south on them. It involves removing the "no promise to pay" language in KRS 304.1-120(7)(f) and in the required disclaimer statement provided to each member.

The "no promise to pay" language in KRS 304.1-120 (7) can only be justified in terms of providing political cover for House Democrats and limiting underwriting risk for the health sharing groups. Left as it is, the consumer is the only player left unprotected in this scenario. If we think about it, fixing this makes a lot of sense.

The net effect of this suggested legislative change is that Kentucky consumers of these products, rather than being unprotected by both insurance regulators and courts, would gain protection of the courts.

Stand by for more information about this. The second item is one I need your help with right away. Please ask your member of Congress to sponsor legislation to repeal  United States Code 26, Section 5000A, (d), (2), (B) (IV). This will create the opportunity for new health sharing groups to be started, creating more competition and a healthier market for consumers.

No matter what happens with ObamaCare later this year, people will be looking for better healthcare solutions. The best chance for that is outside of government regulation, among providers regulated by competition and informed consumers. Doing everything we can to develop such a market must not be considered optional. We have to do this.

Please consider contributing to this effort by clicking here and donating what you can. Thanks for all you do.