MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday after nearly three hours of debate, allowing the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA) to begin offering health plans to its members.
House Bill 477 (HB477), sponsored by State Rep. David Faulkner (R-Mountain Brook), would allow a "nonprofit agricultural organization" to offer health benefits to its members and their families. The bill does not mention ALFA specifically. However, ALFA is the only state organization meeting the bill's criteria. It would also specify that the nonprofit agricultural organization "would not be engaged in the business of health insurance." It also levies a 1.3% tax on premiums.
Faulkner presented the bill before the House, speaking on its perceived benefits. He pointed to Tennessee, which was the first to successfully implement a similar program, which 10 other states have since adopted.
Faulkner boasted of six months of work to arrive at a compromise with several parties, including the Business Council of Alabama (BCA), Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) and The Alabama Hospital Association (AHA).
“Members, 95% of Alabama’s 37,000 farms are family-owned,’ Faulkner told the House body. “The rising cost of healthcare is a significant burden for our farmers. As legislators, there is little we can do about fertilizer costs or the price of cotton, but we can make a difference in one of the largest household costs for many farmer families and other citizens in Alabama regarding their healthcare coverage.”
The bill passed near-unanimously with only one “no” vote despite the debate taking nearly three hours. The discussion, which could dubiously be defined as debate, initiated mainly by Democratic lawmakers, lacked much substance, often devolving into somewhat incoherent monologues.
The bill was amended twice on the floor. The first amendment, offered by State Rep. Paul Lee (R-Dothan), stipulated that the aggregate value of benefits or services covered under a health benefits plan under this act cannot be subject to an annual limit of less than $2 million per year per enrollee.
Faulkner stated the amendment came at the request of the AHA.
The bill already received six amendments while in the House Health Committee, two of which failed to pass. The majority of Thursday’s debate centered on a floor amendment by Faulkner to remove one of the amendments approved by the health committee.
The amendment, which was introduced in committee by State Rep. Frances Holk-Jones (R-Foley), requires the Department of Insurance to enforce the bill's provisions.
“It’s too vague, in my opinion, to be on there,” Faulkner said.
He continued, “The state department of insurance does not regulate self-funded plans, and the federal regulation that does apply to self-funded plans doesn’t really have any application to what’s in our bill. Our bill is far more comprehensive. And so, it doesn’t make sense to me for that to be on there.”
Some lawmakers took umbrage with Faulkner’s attempt to undo the Health Committee’s actions. Others sincerely stated that they believed in oversight from the Department of Insurance.
“I’m supporting the bill in the end, but I’m a firm believer in supporting my committee chair,” said State Rep. Chris Blackshear (R-Phenix City). “Let’s be honest, today’s an easy vote one way or the other. The difficult vote is to be one of those 12 or 15 people that are on committee. When they’re staring down the 200, 300 people looking at them, that’s the tough vote. And we had a majority of that committee take a tough vote, and I’m going to have their vote on the floor today.”
After nearly two hours of loosely defined debate on Faulkner’s amendment, it passed 74-15. Immediately afterward, the body voted to approve the bill 99-1, with one abstention. The lone “no” vote came from State Rep. Marilyn Lands (D-Huntsville), arguably the most liberal member of the legislature.
After the bill’s passage, the House erupted into applause and laughter after House Rules chairman Joe Lovvorn (R-Auburn) gifted Faulkner an American flag cowboy hat.
The bill must now go through the Senate before it can receive the governor’s signature and become law.
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