NORMAN — Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland said the federal health insurance reform act has many unanswered questions, and insurance agents and citizens who don’t stay informed do so at their own peril.
“It is estimated that the regulations alone for this bill will run tens of thousands of pages,” Holland told the Central Oklahoma chapter of National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisers. “It is important that you stay informed with the bill for your clients and as citizens but remember only Congress has the ability to change it,” she said. “Some part of the bill will work and some parts won’t.”
Effective 2010, the bill requires coverage for children with pre-existing conditions, guarantees coverage for children, sets up a temporary high risk pool, mandates coverage for preventive health services and covers dependent adults. It prohibits lifetime dollar limits and creates tax credits for small businesses.
Holland, a Democrat, said the administration did a good job selling the benefits of reform.
“As a former salesman, I couldn’t hold a candle to this administration selling this bill,” she said.
The most controversial part of the legislation seems to be the mandate that all persons purchase health insurance or pay fines. Without the buy-in from young, healthy Americans, the pool will be heavily weighted with sick people. Spreading the risk makes coverage affordable.
Attorneys general of several states have filed a lawsuit asking whether the U.S. can require persons to purchase a commercial product.
“It’s an interesting argument and a valuable decision that should be discussed. That could take years to move forward,” she said.
The mandates don’t come with much teeth, however. The IRS can send letters demanding payment or deduct the penalties from a taxpayer’s return but beyond that there is very little enforcement and no jail time specified.
“People want reform, but they don’t want to be told what they have to buy,” she said. “It’s going to be different but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad.”
Holland fielded questions about insurance exchanges set up to spread the risk and assure coverage for all. Oklahoma received a federal grant to plan its exchanges. The first of a series of public meetings on the topic will be Sept. 8 in Oklahoma City.
She was appointed to the post by Gov. Brad Henry in 2005 and in 2006 became the first woman elected Insurance Commissioner. She faces Republican John Doak in the Nov. 2 election.
Holland also said the state was recently projected to have the highest rate of obesity in a few years. She suggested the focus be put on children.
“We have some really serious issues that have to be dealt with,” she said.
