The Self-Insurance Institute of America, Inc. (SIIA) said today that it has formed a political action committee, known as Self-Insurance PAC.
SIIA said the move was designed to strengthen the association's influence in Washington, D.C., and channel financial contributions to the political campaigns of members of Congress who support the self-insurance/alternative risk transfer (ART) industry.
SIIA spokesman Dave Kirby told National Underwriter the group was formed specifically to address health care issues in Washington. Mr. Kirby also explained that a PAC operates by specific guidelines and cannot solicit funds for its operation.
He said that today in Washington, SIIA members held more than 300 meetings in Congressional offices to express their concerns about the apparent direction of health care reform efforts by the federal government.
Two specific concerns of SIIA are elements of several proposals, including those of the Obama Administration and both houses of Congress. SIIA said these are:
o Proposed mandates for employee coverage that would include taxation sanctions against employers who do not provide coverage.
o A national health insurance exchange that would serve as an option for people who opt out of their employer plans or are not offered plans.
"The mandated coverage, termed 'pay or play' could ultimately erode the employer system by requiring standardized government-determined plans that would eliminate the present flexibility of self-insured plans, and perhaps force employers to terminate their plans," Michael Ferguson, chief operating officer of SIIA said in a statement.
SIIA said its concern about an optional health insurance exchange centers on the proposal to include a government program along with private insurance plans.
"This would ultimately lead to the elimination of the employer-based system as the government plan would be subsidized by taxpayer dollars and represent unfair competition versus health plans of private insurers," Mr. Ferguson said.
He explained that SIIA's mission is to "rally support for the employer-sponsored self-insured health care system. While prevalent health reform proposals identify the existing employer-based system as an asset, certain details of the proposals cause concern."
He added, "We intend to continue to work closely with Congress to help make sure that any health care reform legislation doesn't have adverse unintended consequences for the 75 million people covered by self-insured employee benefit plans."
Mr. Ferguson said SIIA believes that given the significant size and importance of the self-insurance/ART industry, "our elected leadership felt it was important to take this initiative to be more directly involved in the political process just as the traditional insurance industry and other leading interest groups do."
This involvement, he noted, will complement SIIA's lobbying efforts, "which have increased significantly over the past few years."
SIIA is a non-profit trade association that represents companies involved in the self-insurance/alternative risk transfer industry.
Additional information is online at www.siia.org .
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