The Self-Insurance Institute of America hopes a new presidential administration will help it get the third version of a stop-loss defense measure signed into law.
The Simpsonville, South Carolina-based group is seeking congressional support for the Self-Insurance Protection Act bill, a measure that would exclude stop-loss insurance from the federal definition of health insurance.
The SIPA bill could help employers with small self-insured plans get stop-loss insurance from entities other than major medical insurance providers, by blocking state efforts to apply major medical insurance rules to small stop-loss arrangements.
Jay Ritchie, an executive from a stop-loss insurance issuer, testified on behalf of the SIPA bill Wednesday, at a hearing in Washington organized by the House Education and Workforce Committee.
Since the Affordable Care Act came along, "self-insurance has been a viable for some small businesses," Ritchie said at the hearing, which was streamed live on the web. "Passage of SIPA is needed to maintain that option."
Witnesses at the hearing also testified on behalf of H.R. 1101, a bill that would encourage small businesses to join together to form multi-state association health plans, and a draft of the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act, a bill backed by the American Benefits Council.
Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, said at the hearing that Republicans were trying to distract voters from the fact that Republicans have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 60 times and still have no replacement proposal.
The hearing "is nothing more than just stalling till they can come up with a plan," Fudge said. "They have no clue what to do."
A recording of the hearing is available on the committee website.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing on three health coverage rule change proposals Wednesday. (Video: EdWorkforce/YouTube)