Top Legislative Issues
Disclosure of Employer-Provided Health Insurance
Memo in Opposition
Bill Number: A. 6207-A (John)
Summary:
HCP strongly opposes the enactment of A.6207-A which requires the Commissioner
of Health, with the assistance of the Commissioner of Labor to prepare an annual public health
program access beneficiary report which must be submitted to the Governor and Legislature and
made available to the public. The legislation requires the report to consist of the name and
address of the employer, the number of public health program access beneficiaries who are
employees, spouses or dependents of employees of the employer, whether or not the employer
offers health benefits to its employees and their spouses and dependents, and the cost to the state of providing public health program benefits for all public health program access beneficiaries.
The legislation also requires all employers in New York State to state in any public notice about
employment opportunities whether they provide health insurance to their employees.
HCP has always supported providing health care for the uninsured in New York and maintaining the integrity of publicly-funded health care programs as they are important public policy goals for strengthening the State's health care system. However, this legislation as proposed would further deter individuals from working in home care and places significant reporting burdens on providers notwithstanding a critical healthcare workforce shortage in New York State.
Position:
HCP strongly opposes this legislation because providers who are currently serving Medicaid patients are subject to fixed rates that are set through a cost-related reimbursement methodology with a built-in time lag of two years. Under the current methodology, certain Medicaid reimbursement rates, particularly personal care, often fail to come close to reflecting the actual cost of doing business and providers are hard-pressed to absorb their current costs for two years without appropriate reimbursement. As a result, providers often bear a significant financial burden when purchasing health insurance. Also, a health workforce shortage still exists through New York State in both the paraprofessional and professional sectors and adding a requirement for home care providers to state whether they offer health insurance in public notices could further deter prospective employees from work in home care and thus worsen the workforce shortage in New York State.
HCP also opposes this legislation because the bill does not state specifically who has to provide the employee health insurance information to DOH. As a result, the legislation could place an undue reporting burden on an already strained home care industry for circumstances that are, in most cases beyond the control of the agency. The bill also does not provide any information on how such requirements will be funded, placing the fiscal burden on the provider with no adequate resources.
For the above reasons, HCP recommends disapproval of A.6207-A.
