Health Privacy May Dominate State Legislatures

Janauary 18, 2001, Washington DC -- The most prevalent health insurance-related issues state legislatures will debate this year are a range of privacy initiatives and a host of bills mandating that health insurance cover specific services, according to a new state legislative forecast released today by the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA).

HIAA’s legislative forecast also identifies expanding prescription drug coverage, imposing additional "prompt payment" requirements for health insurers and health plans, and reviewing previous state market "reforms" as emerging state health insurance-related issues. The forecast also finds that extending antitrust waivers to doctors and other health care providers, and expanding liability against health insurers and health plans, are key ongoing state issues.

According to HIAA’s analysis, the range of privacy issues confronting states includes how to comply with the federal "Gramm-Leach-Bliley" law, which is broad enough to allow states to set up guidelines for medical information maintained by health insurers. States also must contend with how complying with "Gramm-Leach-Bliley" guidelines may overlap with federal privacy regulations recently released by the Clinton Administration.

HIAA’s legislative forecast predicts that this year, all 50 states will consider proposals to mandate health insurers and health plans to pay for specific services. However, HIAA research shows that the costs associated with mandates are responsible for causing as many as one in four Americans to go without health coverage.

The legislative forecast also notes that this year, legislation that would expand liability against health insurers and health plans already has been introduced in eight states and is likely to be a priority issue in 12 more – a significant drop from the 32 states in 2000 that considered such legislation. This decline is attributed to the large number of states (40 states and the District of Columbia) that already have adopted laws requiring external review of claims appeals.

The Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) is a trade association representing the private health care system with nearly 300 members.