By

Dan Pilcher

CACI Senior Vice President

& Chief Operating Officer

Phone: 303.866-9600

E-Mail: dpilcher@COchamber.com

Friday, April 6, 2007

SB-36, the “Mental Disorders” Mandate Bill, is Scheduled to Move Next Week

SB-36, which has been resting in the Senate Appropriations Committee for a month, reportedly will be on the move next week, and is calendared for action on Thursday.

The bill would mandate that employer-provided health insurance be required to cover “mental disorders” in addition to six biologically-based mental illnesses that are already covered.  It would not apply to companies with 50 eligible workers or less.

CACI has historically opposed bills that would mandate additional coverage on employer-provided health-care benefits because it drives up the cost of the insurance premiums for both companies and workers.

Current state statute says that insurance plans “shall provide coverage for the treatment of biologically based mental illness . . .”  The bill would add the phrase “ . . . and mental disorders . . .”  The mental disorders in the bill are defined in the ninth revision of The International Classification of Diseases, also known as ICD-9.  To learn more about the disorders, visit:

http://icd9cm.chrisendres.com/index.php?action=child&recordid=2134

Under mental disorders, this Web site lists for ICD-9 the following major categories: psychoses; neurotic disorders; personality disorders and other non-psychotic disorders; and mental retardation.  Under just personality disorders are such categories as anxiety; alcohol dependence; obsessive-compulsive personality; and sexual and gender-identity disorders.

CACI strongly opposes SB-36 on a number of grounds.  First, it flies in the face of the goal of the “208 Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform” and the stated goal of the General Assembly to reduce the number of uninsured in Colorado.  Second, this bill will greatly expand mandates for mental-health coverage, which will increase premiums.  Third, these increases, at a time when employers are already struggling to provide affordable health care, will likely cause businesses to decrease benefits and/or shift a higher percentage of the premium costs to workers.   Fourth, this will certainly result in a larger number of workers who are priced out of the market for affordable health care. 

Representatives of Kaiser Permanente, which is not a CACI member, are reportedly attempting to work with the bill sponsor, Senator Moe Keller (D-Wheat Ridge) to narrow the list of mental conditions being mandated for coverage.  The narrowed list is reported, however, to include coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social phobia, agoraphobia with panic disorder and chemical dependency.  If and when these proposed amendments are shared with the larger business community and health-care providers, they are likely to be deemed so expansive as to increase premiums to unacceptable levels.

A fact sheet prepared by CACI Governmental Affairs Vice President Donnah Moody contains the following points in opposition to the bill:

• Significantly expands mandatory health insurance coverage for mental disorders (in addition to biologically based mental illness) as defined in the ICD-9. 

• Those mental disorders include psychoses, neurotic disorders, personality disorders and other non-psychotic disorders.  Personality disorders include anxiety, obsessive-compulsive personality and sexual- and gender-identity disorders.

• Proposes major expansion of benefits and will increase costs at a time when employers are struggling to maintain existing benefits for their employees.

• Small employers were exempted because of a fear that they will reduce benefits and increase costs to workers.

• Larger businesses are impacted disproportionately and may be encouraged to self-fund in order to reduce costs.

• One CACI member projects a 30 percent increase in costs to provide health care to their employees.

• Fiscal note projects increases for the state and state employees for health insurance benefits.

• A priority of the 208 Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform is to propose ways to reduce the number of uninsured – SB036 flies in the face of that by increasing benefits to those already covered.

• Such increases do not necessarily result in employers’ dropping health plans but, rather, reducing benefits and increasing cost-sharing with employees, pricing some out of the market.

• This issue should be considered as part of the 208 Commission’s review and recommendations.

Finally, The Rocky Mountain News editorialized yesterday against the bill, saying that “ . . . the cost of health care is such that the legislature should try to reduce, not expand, the list of mandates.”

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article/0,2777,

DRMN_23964_5464878,00.html

Workers’ Compensation Bill for Firefighters Awaits Senate Action

Having cleared the House, HB-1008 awaits action in the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.  The proposal contains a radical conceptual shift in state workers’ comp policy that could lead to legislative efforts targeted at the private sector for specific industries.

The bill presumes that if a person who served as a firefighter, regardless of how long or whether he or she engaged in firefighting efforts, contracts cancer, even in retirement, the cancer was presumed to have been contracted on the job.  The bill would set a precedent for “presumptive eligibility” for many other groups in similar situations, such as those who work with chemicals, i.e., dry cleaners, farmers,  flower-growers and housepainters, among many others.  This bill would set a bad precedent for state public policy and likely cause a premium shift to members of the business community.

The bill is sponsored by Representative Mike Cerbo (D-Denver).  The Colorado Municipal League is leading the charge against the bill.

The impact on workers’ comp policies that now cover firefighters will be substantial.  For example, Pinnacol Assurance, a CACI member, provides a discount of 75 percent from National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) rates to local volunteer firefighters through policies issued to counties and special districts.

http://www.ncci.com/NCCI/index.aspx

If HB-1008 becomes law, however, then NCCI expects the premiums for the Pinnacol firefighters’ policies to increase 15 percent to 30 percent if Pinnacol no longer subsidizes the policies.  But, if the bill fails, Pinnacol expects a decrease in premiums for firefighters next year as part of an overall decrease in premiums for businesses.

HB-1176 Allowing Injured Workers a Choice of Two Workers’ Comp Doctors and Chance to Switch Passes Senate Committee

On Tuesday, the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee unanimously approved HB-1176, which would grant an injured worker a choice of two approved workers’ comp doctors for treatment and then the chance to switch doctors.  The bill has gone to the Senate floor for consideration.

CACI Governmental Affairs Vice President Donnah Moody testified that, because of the amendments made to the bill in the House, CACI had taken a neutral position on the bill.

Moody and a “stakeholders” group of CACI members worked with the bill’s sponsor, Representative Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora), the House leadership and the Ritter Administration to clarify concerns with the bill.  Because of compromises reached on the bill, CACI has now taken a neutral position on the bill in its current form.

HB-1176 would require that employers offer a choice of two unaffiliated workers’ comp doctors.  The injured worker could first select one of the doctors but then switch to the other within 90 days following the injury and, provided the worker follows certain procedures, the request could not be denied.  Current law allows for judicial relief for the small number of workers’ comp cases that can’t be resolved administratively.

Senate Leadership Seeks Compromise on HB-1341, which Would Restructure and Redirect the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission

As reported in The Rocky Mountain News, Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald (D-Coal Creek Canyon) called a meeting Tuesday to seek a compromise on HB-1341, which would drastically change the composition and mission of the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission, the main entity for regulation of the industry.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,

DRMN_23906_5462617,00.html

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Curry (D-Gunnison) and Senator Jim Isgar (D-Hesperus).  The House passed the bill on March 23rd and it has been assigned to the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.

HB-1341 would expand the membership of the Commission by adding representatives from the wildlife, environmental and landowner communities.  It would reduce the number of industry representatives from five to three.  It also would add as voting members the directors of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

CACI is concerned that the net effect of the various bills could damage the industry, which is a vital part of the state’s economy in terms of jobs and contribution of tax revenues to state and local governments.  CACI also is concerned about how changes to the regulation of the industry could lead to (a) shortages of oil and gas that could potentially increase energy costs for businesses and consumers, and (b) set worrisome precedents on how industry pays fees for its regulation and where that money goes in State Government.  Members of the CACI Environmental Council have discussed this bill and the appropriate role for CACI as the state chamber of commerce in the discussion.

For More Information on Bills . . .

CACI members with questions about legislation that CACI opposes or supports should contact Chuck Berry, CACI President, at 303.866.9601 or e-mail him at:

cberry@COchamber.com

Questions pertaining to the health-care policy bills should be directed to Ralph Pollock, Chair of the CACI HealthCare Council at 303.866.9657 or via e-mail at:

ralph@apaccess.com

CACI’s Legislative Agenda is a complete listing of bills that CACI is lobbying, either in support or opposition.  The Legislative Agenda can be found on the CACI Web site, where it will be updated on a weekly basis:

www.COchamber.com

If you wish to track a particular bill’s legislative process, you can do so by going to the legislature’s Web site:

www.leg.state.co.us

CareerBuilder.com Joins CACI, Offers Affinity Products to CACI Members

CACI and several of its members have teamed up to offer certain products and services to CACI members.  These so-called “affinity programs” are housed in CACI’s Center for Business Resources, a for-profit CACI subsidiary.  Visit the CACI Web site to see these programs:

http://www.cochamber.com/resources/resources.asp

Now, CACI and CareerBuilder.com have teamed up to provide a 15 percent discount on CareerBuilder.com products to CACI members.

No matter what type of position you need to fill, find the most qualified candidates — across all industries and job types — on CareerBuilder.com.  As the nation’s largest online job site, CareerBuilder.com delivers your job postings to more than 23 million unique candidates each month.  With CareerBuilder.com, you get the tools to make your recruitment process easier.  Tools such as search agents, job templates, letter templates, and candidate screeners save you time while making you more productive in obtaining your next qualified candidate--quickly.  CareerBuilder.com offers a total recruitment solution for your business, ultimately saving you time, money, and resources!

NOTE: If you already have a CareerBuilder.com contract, your discount will not apply until that contract ends and may not be combined with other discounts.

Visit the CACI Web site via this link to learn more about CareerBuilder.com:

http://www.cochamber.com/resources/careerbuilder.asp