Insurance companies could sell individual health insurance plans that don't include all the coverage requirements of Georgia law under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate.
After an exhaustive and emotional debate, the Senate voted 37 to 17, mostly along party lines, to approve House Bill 47. The bill would give Georgians the option to buy individual policies approved by states that do not have as many consumer protection requirements as Georgia does. Supporters, mainly Republicans, said the bill could make insurance more affordable and induce more people without coverage to buy it. About one in five Georgians has no health insurance.
"Maybe it's not a Cadillac plan but a Chevy is better than no car," Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, said during the debate.
Opponents, mainly Democrats, said Georgia consumers could end up with flimsy policies that would leave them without coverage they may desperately need in the future.
"It is a great travesty for Georgians who are now going to be more unprotected in the insurance market," said Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, who argued vigorously against the bill.
Women members of the state House stood in the Senate chamber to register their opposition to the bill. While the Senate has beaten back a series of similar measures in recent years, the opponents failed this time.
The Senate included an amendment that would require consumers purchasing an out-of-state plan to get a chart comparing the coverages in the plan to what is required under Georgia law. The amended bill will go back to the House.
The mandates in Georgia law require a range of benefits including cancer screenings and 48-hour hospital stays for new mothers and babies. Georgia's insurance mandates do not apply to everyone. Most large companies operate self-insured plans that are governed by federal law and not subject to state mandates.
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