Senate warned against adding govt health benefits

The Department of Public Health and an insurance company have warned lawmakers that premiums might shoot up if they pass a Senate bill that would expand the health insurance coverage of government employees.

Senate Bill 15-36, authored by Senate Health and Welfare Committee chairman Paul A. Manglona, seeks to mandate insurance coverage for government employees with chronic orthopedic deformities or suffering from hemophilia.

Public Health Joseph Kevin Villagomez said that it would be costly to require insurance companies to include coverage for hemophilia. The move would increase monthly premiums for each government employee.

According to Villagomez, the cost of hemophilia care is extremely expensive as the cost of drugs to maintain a person suffering from this blood disorder ranges from almost $2,000 to $9,000-plus a month depending on the type of treatment.

He added that, based on the department’s experience with Medicaid members, a patient who requires hospital care could average from a three- to five-day stay. Depending on severity and intensity of service, the total cost could reach approximately $300,000.

“To this end, we recommend that further assessment be made to determine the type and level of legislative support necessary to assist those government employees that have this type of blood disorder,” Villagomez said.

Villagomez also urged the bill’s author to define “chronic orthopedic deformity” to determine if it means congenital deformity or deformity caused by trauma. He said that birth defects such as bone deformity are now supported by the department’s Maternal-Child Health program.

For its part, Calvo’s Insurance Underwriters Inc. warned the lawmakers of the costs associated with broader health benefits.

Eli Buenaventura, general manager of Calvos Insurance, noted that more benefits could exacerbate the financial losses already suffered by the Retirement Fund-administered health plan.

He added that other commercial plans that provide health benefits to individual government employees would require additional premiums for additional benefits. “We feel that increasing premium may decrease the affordability of health insurance, especially since government employees may see…a reduction in pay,” Buenaventura said.