Political Quotes

“Members of the NAIC are also concerned about enforcement. As you know as a former state regulator, if there is no enforcement then there is no protection. States have developed the infrastructure necessary to receive and process consumer complaints in a timely fashion and ensure that insurers comply with the laws. The federal government does not have this capability, and [these] proposals [before the Senate] do not provide any resources to federal agencies to develop such capability. It has taken the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) years to develop the infrastructure required to enforce the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which included only six basic provisions that most states had already enacted. The proposed patient protection bills are far more complicated than HIPAA and will require considerable oversight. If we pass the McCain-Kennedy bill without this amendment, we are holding forth a hollow promise to consumers.”