Fiscal impact
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in
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SPONSOR |
Feldman |
DATE TYPED |
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HB |
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SHORT
TITLE |
Private Purchase of Health Insurance |
SB |
SJM 8/aSFL#2 |
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ANALYST |
Geisler |
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APPROPRIATION
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Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY04 |
FY05 |
FY04 |
FY05 |
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See
Narrative |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates:
HJM 3
Relates to:
HB 87 and SB 101
Human Services Department
Health Policy Commission
PRC-Insurance
Division
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Senate
Floor Amendment #2
The amendment provides for the participation of
a representative from every insurance company that does business in
Synopsis of Senate
Floor Amendment #1
The
amendment to page 2, line 10 strikes “incomes” and inserts in lieu thereof
“expenses.” This clarifies that health
care insurance and health care costs make up a increasing share of employee and
employer expenses.
Synopsis of Original Bill
The memorial calls for the Human Services
Department and the Health Policy Commission, with the cooperation of the
Insurance Division and the Risk Management Division, to “study the potential
effects and methods of authorizing private businesses and individuals to join a
public health insurance purchasing collaborative.” The study is to address the effect on the
number of uninsured, the growth in health insurance costs, the effects on the
business community and the effects on the private group and individual insurance
markets. The analysis is to include
input from key stakeholders and a final report with legislative recommendations
would be due by December 2004.
Significant Issues
The analysis
called for by this memorial was one of the recommendations of the Governor’s
Health Care Coverage and Access Task Force.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The Human Services Department states that it has
received federal grant money to study the uninsured. Part of these funds would be used to perform
this analysis and produce this report.
DUPLICATION AND RELATIONSHIP
Duplicates HJM 3. Relates to SB 101 and HB 87
that would establish an expanded public agency purchasing pool for health care
benefits initially to public employees and retirees, but potentially could be
expanded to private companies and citizens.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
HPC provides that the potential ability of the
private sector and individuals to increase their purchase power by enabling
this segment of the New Mexican Population to join a public purchasing
cooperative has enormous economic effects.
It could:
·
Lower
the cost of insurance.
·
Reduce
the number of working uninsured.
·
Allow
economic growth in the small business sector through
the ability to reducing
employee turnover. (Small businesses lose
employees to larger
employers who can offer benefits. Therefore, the
added cost of retraining
is enormous).
GG/prr:njw:dm