We’ve reported a couple of times this fall on a bill that would have put several important health care consumer protections from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into state law. The bill, AB 210, has had strong backing from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) and from insurance companies who have been worried about potential problems that might result from having inconsistent state and federal laws. They were particularly concerned that the state’s failure to have a consistent state law would mean that consumers would be able to take their grievances to two different independent appeal boards – one at the state level and one at the federal level – and could get conflicting rulings.

Progressives have had reservations about the bill, mostly because it sunsets (repeals) the new consumer protections being put into state law if the ACA is struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.  AB 210 was approved by the Assembly on Oct. 18, by a vote of 57-39, with only 5 Republican legislators voting against it.  Notwithstanding the bill’s vigorous support from the Insurance Commissioner and its endorsement by the vast majority of Assembly Republicans, Senator Frank Lasee (R., De Pere) announced on Nov. 1 that he wouldn’t schedule the bill for a vote in his Senate committee, where the bill currently resides. 

On November 11, to the consternation of Senator Lasee, the Insurance Commissioner issued an emergency rule that adopts some of the provisions of AB 210 and the federal law. Lasee, who is running for the US Senate seat held by retiring Senator Herb Kohl (and is jockeying for position with several other conservative Republicans for Tea Party support), is opposed to any state action that arguably helps implement the ACA. This week he criticized the Walker Administration for working on the emergency rule even before he announced that the bill would not emerge from his committee.

According to today’s Wisconsin Health News, J.P. Wieske, the spokesman for the Insurance Commissioner, responded to the criticism by stating that, “we felt that it was important for the state to continue to regulate the appeals process rather than have the feds take it over.” Wieske added that OCI is still deciding whether it will propose additional rules related to AB 210.

Jon Peacock