http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/07/16/business/c1-bill16.txt
New Haven Register (Connecticut)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
July 16, 2009 Thursday
Transparency stressed in health care reform bills
by Angela Carter, New Haven Register, Conn.
Jul. 16--Congressional health care reform bills adopted Tuesday and Wednesday by House and Senate committees include provisions from a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, designed to increase transparency about the benefits offered in health care plans.
Based on DeLauro's Informed Consumer Choices in Health Care Act of 2009, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee included amendments to its version of health care reform legislation requiring insurance companies to clearly disclose provisions on the issuer's right to change premiums, co-payments or other information.
"I am thrilled that both the House and Senate have included these critical transparency and accountability provisions in their health care reform legislation. Consumers should not have to take a stab in the dark," DeLauro said in a statement.
Also, companies would have to disclose the benefits and premiums available under all coverage plans for which an individual or employer is qualified. The information would have to be included in a company's marketing materials.
The Senate language also would create health insurance consumer assistance grants to states to help them establish, expand or support offices dedicated to assisting consumers with questions and educating them on insurance coverage, filing complaints or appeals, and tracking consumer complaints.
Any proposed health care package still must clear the complexities and politics of getting through the full House and Senate, with President Barack Obama's goals of slowing cost increases and bringing coverage to nearly 50 million uninsured.
Senate health committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., said he believes the panel has produced legislation the American people want.
But the GOP is saying in an opposition campaign that members believe "the last thing the American people want is government telling them when and where -- or even whether -- they can get medical treatment for their families."
Meanwhile, Citizens for Tax Justice in Washington, D.C., released a report Wednesday showing that 9.5 percent of Connecticut's population is uninsured, but 2.8 percent of residents earning more than $350,000 a year would pay additional taxes to help pay for a public option.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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