Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1304, the Self-Insurance Protection Act, purports to protect stop-loss insurers from being regulated at the Federal level. It appears that we are considering a bill that is a solution in search of a problem. I am not opposed to stop-loss insurance or the purpose of stop-loss insurance. It can be helpful in shielding employers from unforeseen risks in many instances when they choose to self-insure and want to protect themselves from unexpected and unusually high expenses. Now, while many self-funded plans, in conjunction with the purchased stop-loss, look like a traditional fully insured plan, stop-loss coverage itself is not regulated at the Federal level. There is no indication or suggestion that the administration would seek to regulate stop-loss insurance, so the bill prohibits Federal regulation of stop- loss insurance. The Federal Government does not regulate stop-loss insurance today, and doesn't look like it is going to seek to regulate self-insurance in the foreseeable future, so it is difficult to ascertain exactly what the purpose of the bill is. But employers, particularly small ones, do face risks when self- insuring. I think it is important that we ensure that employers are aware of the risks and protect them and their employees when appropriate. They can incur tremendous losses if the employee incurs a serious injury or illness.…”