Facts:
- Jim Barnett was the chief sponsor of SB 309. (Minutes of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, 1/25/07)
- “The original SB 309 was the brainchild of Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia.” (Shields, Mike. “Senate health
connector bill on its way to a makeover”. KHI News Service. 3/6/07.)
- Barnett’s bill SB 309 would have required an individual mandate that Kansans purchase health insurance
through a government exchange. (SB 309, pg. 14)
- Failure to comply with Barnett’s healthcare insurance mandate would result in the state garnishing wages
of up to $10,000 and withholding tax refunds. (SB 309, pg. 14)
- Individuals could opt out of Barnett’s insurance mandate only if they provide documentation of their
“financial security” by presenting a $10,000 bond to the Health Policy Authority or depositing $10,000
with the Kansas Policy Authority to be placed in an escrow account. (SB 309, pg. 14)
- Small businesses with 50 or fewer employees would be prohibited from purchasing health insurance for
their employees, except through the Connector. (SB 309, pg. 14)
Committee Testimony Against Barnett’s SB 309:
Coventry Healthcare of Kansas: “The model (SB 309) is fraught with unintended consequences, the most
important being that many Kansans will pay more for coverage, not less.”… “We calculate that if Coventry’s
current book of almost 3,000 small employer businesses was sold instead through the connector model, 28% of
the employees will see a premium rate increase between 5% and 20%. Almost 35% of the employees would get
a 20% increase in their premium.”
American Family Insurance Group: “We believe that certain provisions in SB 309 are harmful for consumers
and insurers in the individual health insurance market. These provisions will increase premiums for current
policyholders and will likely lead many current policyholders to drop health insurance coverage.”
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas: “Remanufacturing the entire health insurance system in the State of Kansas
is a serious and precarious undertaking, one that is fraught with the potential for serious and dramatic unintended
consequences.”… “These mechanisms could lead to serious unintended consequences and could raise the cost of
coverage for many and in turn swell the ranks of the uninsured.”
Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce: “We do know that setting up a ‘health care insurance
connector’ or ‘exchange’ within the Kansas Health Policy Authority is in effect giving a state agency the
responsibility of determining which health care plan or plans will be offered through the exchange and the
power to decree that the plan will be offered to all such individuals and employers and other groups as wish to
apply for insurance, or portability of insurance.”…”There is no way anyone can tell us that this mandatory plan
will result in more affordable or available health insurance coverage.”…
