Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • August 19, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 9 It never reached a House vote, but Looney said he's OK with that and hopes the task force's work will help reinforce reform desires. "Our concern was the insurance industry might try to pick the bill apart a little bit and counterattack in the House," he said, sharing a bit of his legislative tactical thinking. Big bills, skipped care Recent studies have shown that patients with high-deductible health plans are more likely to delay medical care and have more trouble paying medical bills. Less than half of enrollees have enough in their savings ac- counts to cover their deductible, according to a recent survey by the Kaiser Fam- ily Foundation and Los Angeles Times. Avoiding care reduces health- care spending, but some ques- tion whether saddling con- sumers with medical debt is worth it. Among them is Doolittle, who said high- deductible plans tend to simply mask the true cost of health care. He said it's time to assess whether high-deductible plans' purported cost-lowering strategy of giv- ing consumers financial "skin in the game" has been effective or worthy policy. Besides his of- ficial state work representing consumers in insurance-cov- erage disputes, Doolittle said he's also had a high- deductible plan, so he views the topic from a few angles. "I started to have this perception that really was a pretext, and really what was going on was the insurance companies were just trying to keep the premiums down, because that's what you fight on with your competi- tors," he said. He said the high-deductible struc- ture can be cruel, since big patient bills come amid times of injury and illness. "From a policy perspective, is it desirable to load the extra cost onto families exactly when they are sick?" he asked. Insurers, businesses concerned Task force members so far also include several doctors, a hospital ex- ecutive, an insurance lobbyist, and a tax attorney. There are several more slots to fill, including a small employ- er and a consumer. The task force could begin its work in September. As the group takes shape, Susan Halpin, chief lobbyist for the Connecti- cut Association of Health Plans, said health insurers' main concerns will be policy ideas that could increase premi- ums. "We're always concerned about any legislation and its unin- tended impact," Halpin said. "From the insur- ance perspective, we want to make sure that con- sumers have ac- cess to a range of affordable health- care policies and high-deductible plans remain one option toward that end and we would hate to see that com- promised in the marketplace." Michelle Rakebrand, a lobbyist for the CBIA, which represents a range of employers that offer insurance to their work- ers and also runs its own private benefits exchange for member com- panies, warned lawmakers earlier this year that proposed reforms could simply shift the cost of care away from deductibles and toward premiums. "While CBIA understands that [high- deductible plans] may offer a slim- mer benefit package, for many small employers that is the only affordable alternative," Rakebrand wrote. Doolittle said the clout of the state's insurance industry, which helped de- feat a public-option-style health plan in the final days of this year's legislative session, will make reforms challenging. "It's hard to get stuff done here in this respect because Connecticut is the insurance capital," he acknowl- edged. "It's super hard politically to have that conversation. But that's what needs to happen." FOCUS FOCUS Join this initiative to build a larger base of talented technology driven young people to fi ll jobs coming online with growing companies throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. Proceeds to benefi t Scholarships and Programming at the Barney School of Business, University of Hartford. For an invitation or more information contact: Margaret Lawson at 860.558.5026 or Email: specialgifts@cptv.org PLEASE JOIN US CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE F.I.R.M. Finance. Insurance. Risk. Manufacturing. 2ND ANNUAL EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP OF THE YEAR AWARD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 6 P.M. | Hartford Marriott Downtown LEADERSHIP AWARD HONOREE JAY S. BENET Vice Chairman, Travelers Premier Sponsors What's a high-deductible health plan? Compared to other health insurance poli- cies, high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) require patients to pay a larger deductible (the amount billed to the patient for most types of services before insurance cover- age will kick in), and in exchange, typically come with lower monthly premiums. The IRS adjusts financial parameters each year for HDHPs, including a minimum de- ductible for individual and family policies ($1,400 and $2,800 in 2020) and a cap on out-of-pocket medical expenses patients must pay ($6,550 and $13,100 in 2020). The IRS is involved because HDHPs allow consumers to open tax-advantaged health savings accounts to help fund their health- care expenses. Susan Halpin, Chief Lobbyist, Connecticut Association of Health Plans Michelle Rakebrand, Lobbyist, CBIA

• Cover