If the state provides its own health coverage for employees, it must provide benefits and protections required by existing insurance laws.

That’s the gist of S1366, which received a favorable recommendation by a Senate committee.

S1366 is necessary, said Sen. Barbara Leff, R-Dist. 11, because a self-insurance plan is exempt from regulation by the state Department of Insurance. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Dean Martin, R-Dist. 6, received an 8-0 do-pass recommendation Feb. 16 from the Senate Finance Committee.

Whether the state begins self-insured health coverage remains a question. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee has not reviewed bids for the program, scheduled to be implemented through the Department of Administration (DOA) by Oct. 1.

However, some legislators dissatisfied with how the DOA bid the program want to delay implementation.

Such a program would be subject to federal, but not state regulations.

Ms. Leff, who spearheaded legislation in 2000 that led to protections for people enrolled in health care plans, said, “There’s some fear that some of the mandates [in state law], such as the appeals process, the grievance, all of the protections that we put in for people three years ago… the self-insured program doesn’t have to follow any of them…”

Title 20 in Arizona law deals with health plan member protections regarding disruption of care, physician referrals, inducements to delay or deny care, the right to sue a health care insurer and timely claims payments.

Under self-insurance, the state would assume the risk of health claims for its 140,000 employees, dependents and state retirees. DOA says the program will save more than $200 million in its first five years, and the Legislature mandated the program to deal with increasing costs of commercial coverage, currently provided by Cigna Healthcare of Arizona.

Cactus League

In other Finance Committee action, a 9-0 do-pass vote forwarded a bill (S1264) that prohibits Cactus League funds from being spent to lure a Major League baseball team from one Arizona location to another. The bill also requires that the funds, which are administered by the Tourism and Sports Authority, be used to attract additional Major League teams to the state for spring training and to retain current ones in their existing locations. —