Health and Human Services Committee on HB 309-FN
Thursday, March 8 **Rescheduled**
Health And Human Services, Rm 100, State House
1:00 PM - HB 309-FN, relative to certain insurance mandates and establishing a study committee. Executive session may follow.
As introduced, HB 309 proposed to repeal seven health insurance coverage protections for consumers:
- Certified midwife services;
- Bone marrow donation testing;
- Divorce health coverage;
- Children’s early intervention services;
- Obesity and morbid obesity services
- Diagnosis and treatment of autism and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD); and
- Deafness & hearing loss services
After public hearing and consideration, the House amended HB 309 so that it now proposes to:
- Make midwife services as well as gastric bypass services “voluntary” for insurers, effectively repealing required coverage for such services;
- Refrain from repealing children’s early intervention services and autism / PDD services, and instead subject these services to a special utilization review; and
- Withdraw divorce health coverage, as well as coverage for bone marrow donation testing, from the bill.
- The House amendment also would establish a Study Committee on health insurance mandates that includes review of the cost of such mandates, how they compare with “essential benefits” under the Affordable Care Act, and whether such mandates should be repealed
- However, we have learned that Senate leaders may be interested in amending HB 309 to return the bill to its original form, which would repeal all seven insurance coverage protections.
