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To find out who your legislator is call 202-224-3121. |
CAREFIRST WATCH COALITION UPDATE
Mary Lee Stein, LICSW
Early in October, the Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs of the DC
Council heard testimony in support of The Medical Insurance Empowerment Act of
2005.
This Act would:
1) establish a clear legal obligation of GHMSI to support public health initiatives in its catchment area;
2) provide standards for measuring that obligation; and
3) give the Attorney General enforcement tools to ensure the company’s compliance.
The proposed legislation was a response by Committee chair Jim Graham to the
disavowal by the District’s Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield affiliate, GHMSI, of
any obligation to invest its “excess reserves” in the community. Graham is
expected to introduce the bill to the full Council in December.
The hearing called by Graham provided the opportunity for CareFirst’s CEO
(flanked by a dozen lawyers) to defend the stance that CareFirst is just a
business like any other, and every penny is needed in case of a pandemic or
other health crisis. The DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice responded
vigorously, noting that a charitable obligation is explicitly mandated by
Congress in the company’s charter, and that the CareFirst reserves annually
amount to many millions over and above what is considered an appropriate reserve
level by the insurance industry, whether for profit or non-profit company.
Graham then gave community organizations a chance to weigh in briefly, and Margot Aronson represented our Society. (See the GWSCSW statement in the box on this page.)
If any members of the Clinical Society would like to become more familiar with the issues or become actively involved in working towards the passage of the Bill, contact Mary Lee Stein at 202-237-5500 or mlsmsw@aol.com.
Now is the time to contact members of the DC Council to push for the passage of this Bill, and to urge that mental health needs be included in any consideration of an expanded charitable community role for GHMSI.
Mary Lee Stein represents GWSCSW on the steering committee of the CareFirst Watch Coalition. The GWSCSW statement to the Committee can also be found on our website at http://www.gwscsw.com.
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October 3, 2005 Hearing on the Medical Insurance Empowerment Act of 2005 The Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work supports the Medical Insurance Empowerment Act of 2005. Our society represents more than 500 clinicians practicing in mental health clinics, family service agencies, psychiatric hospitals, medical facilities, and private practice; we are an affiliate of the national Clinical Social Work Federation. Social workers daily see the critical health and mental health needs of clients go untreated because insurance coverage is out of reach. Our society joined the CareFirst Watch Coalition back at the time of the proposed buyout by WellPoint, because we were outraged at the extraordinary demands of CareFirst management in the face of the very real needs of subscribers, providers, those unable to obtain coverage, and the community at large. The more we’ve learned, the more convinced we are that without strong legislation, CareFirst will continue to say “trust us to be good corporate citizens,” while continuing to reward its executives far more than is standard among other similarly-sized non-profits, and to increase excess reserves in hopes of attracting a new buyout proposal. We urge you to require transparency from CareFirst, and to include guidance on how to spend available funds, standards for measuring compliance, and enforcement authority for the Attorney General in The Medical Insurance Empowerment Act of 2005. Without such measures, we fear that the obfuscation will continue. Finally, as clinical social workers, we see mental health issues running through all the problems of the District: HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, gangs, teen pregnancy and more. Our hope is that the mental health needs of the community will be considered in any public conversation about what health services might be supported by significantly increased charitable activity from CareFirst. Thank you. Diana Seasonwein, LCSW-C GWSCSW President
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For GSCSW Legislative
Information contact:
GWSCSW
PO Box 3235
Oakton VA 22124
202-537-0007
Fax: 703-938-8389
email: gwscsw@gmail.com
Website http://www.gwscsw.org