Legislation that would prevent New Jersey consumers from getting surprise out-of-network medical bills stalled Thursday. One reason, according to the sponsor: "Greed-driven special interests."
TRENTON -- Legislation that would prevent New Jersey consumers from getting surprise out-of-network medical bills stalled Thursday when the sponsor pulled it from a committee agenda after learning it did not have enough votes to pass.
Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex) said he asked the Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Nia Gill (D-Essex) to pull the bill from consideration because of "additional questions by members, and the gross misrepresentation of the facts by greed-driven special interests."
On Nov. 23, the Assembly Insurance and Financial Institutions Committee voted 8-0 with three abstentions to approve the legislation that would require hospitals and doctors to disclose whether they are part of a person's insurance network before treatment occurs.
The bill also creates a binding arbitration process that will allow consumers, medical providers and insurance companies to seek an independent ruling on acceptable payments.
Expecting the same support from the Senate Commerce Committee, Vitale asked Gill to schedule the bill for a vote on Thursday. Earlier in the day, however, he asked her to remove it from the agenda, and later issued a statement that promised consumers the bill will pass "sooner rather than later."
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"Changing the culture of greed that victimizes innocent patients with billing scams and financial ruin takes time," Vitale's statement said, which did not name the special interest groups he was targeting.
"Our residents deserve greater transparency and full disclosure that will ultimately lead them to making informed choices about their health care, not surprise bills that will push them into bankruptcy. I remain deeply committed to working with all stakeholders and my colleagues in the Legislature to ensure that New Jersey's health care consumers are protected from these unethical practices," Vitale's statement said.
Vitale said Gill supports the bill. "She has always been supportive and continues to be," he added.
Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), a committee member, said Friday he has concerns on what the bill would mean to Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, a safety-net hospital for uninsured and low-income people in his district.
"My concern is Trinitas hospital's concern -- the only hospital in the fourth largest city which has a supermajority minority population," Lesniak said.
"The consumer protections are good but the insurance company protections are bad and take away any leverage it has against the insurance industry. The solution is to keep the consumer protections and the current mediation system which is a more balanced approach for safety met hospitals," Lesniak said.
State Sens. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) and James Beach (D-Camden), the other Democrats on the committee, could not be reached for comment. Democrats hold a majority in the 40-member Senate and on every committee.
The "Out-of-Network Consumer Protection, Transparency, Cost Containment and Accountability Act" is the latest in a long line of unsuccessful attempts in the last several years to rein in a $1 billion problem that drives up premium costs for all policyholders, according to major insurance carriers in New Jersey.
Many groups representing physicians and hospitals have complained the loudest about the proposals, although the insurance industry has requested some changes, too.
Maura Collinsgru, the health care program director for the consumer group Citizen Action, expressed disappointment in the bill's delay.
"This issue will not go away. We and our NJ for Health Care partners have worked hard, as have the bill's sponsors, to secure this much needed protection for New Jersey consumers," Collinsgru said in a statement. "The failure of members of the committee to commit their support for (S20), the strongest out-of-network protection bill in the country, means consumers will continue to suffer unnecessarily."
