Greg Ganske: “I want to clear up an area of misunderstanding that some of my colleagues have, as well as some of the business…”

“I want to clear up an area of misunderstanding that some of my colleagues have, as well as some of the business community has concerning the bipartisan managed care bill. I recently had a CEO of a major corporation from the Midwest and his lobbyist come into my office and say, if that bill comes law, it would mean the end of ERISA. I said, how so? He said, we would not be able to do a uniform benefits package for our employees across various State lines. I said, you know what? There is nothing in that bill that deals with mandated benefits. Nothing, nada, zero. There would still be ERISA if we passed this law. Businesses that operate across State lines would still be able to do a uniform benefits package, and they would still be exempt from State mandates. The only thing this bill does in ERISA that is of consequence is that it says that if a health plan makes a medical decision that results in the injury to one of their subscribers that they are responsible for that, just like any insurer in the individual market today already is.”