Democrats in the Oklahoma Legislature have expressed frustration over their lack of success in getting insurance mandate bills heard in the Republican-controlled state House.
Democratic legislators said insurance measures they sponsored to require insurers to provide a variety of medical coverage passed the Senate but were killed in House committees and not allowed to be heard on the House floor.
Sen. Charlie Laster, D-Shawnee, said many Oklahomans who pay for private insurance still go without needed medical care because claims are denied and certain conditions are not covered due to exclusions.
“We are frustrated but we are not quitting,” Laster said.
Democrats said GOP House leaders are beholden to insurance companies and not the people they serve.
“What we’re being told is that the insurance companies are more important than the people,” said Rep. Scott Inman, D-Oklahoma City.
Laster added: “We want people to know we’re on their side.”
In a statement, GOP House Speaker Chris Benge of Tulsa said many bills do not make it through the legislative process each year.
“With thousands of bills filed every session, it would be impossible to hear and pass each and every one,” Benge said. “In this body, we must work to overcome policy differences to try to pass into law the best legislation possible for all Oklahomans.”
Benge said many Republican-sponsored bills were not heard in the Senate, which is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. They include bills that would have limited insurance awards for uninsured drivers and a measure that would require a statement providing financial transparency of private adoptions.
Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, said his Patient’s Bill of Rights would have required insurers to pay for any medically necessary procedure but it died in the House.
“We’ve seen people not regulated properly exploit ordinary Americans for profit,” Wilson said. “We have to hold the insurance companies accountable.”
Sen. Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, said a bill known as Steffanie’s Law that would require insurance companies to pay the routine health care costs of patients who take part in clinical trials was sidetracked in a House committee despite the pleas of supporters.
The measure was named for 18-year-old Steffanie Collings of Noble, a brain cancer patient who died last month.
“There’s a crisis of morality in the business place,” Rice said.
In addition, Sen. J. Paul Gumm, D-Durant, said a measure he sponsored called Nick’s Law that would require insurers to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism died in a state House committee last week at a hearing where the parents of autistic children were not allowed to express their support for the measure.
“This is a debate that needs to happen,” said Gumm, who estimated that Oklahomans spend about $50 million a year on medical and behavioral treatments for autistic children that are not covered by their insurers.
“These families deserve to be heard,” Gumm said.
Laster called on Benge and Senate Republican leaders to allow the insurance mandate bills to be heard.
“It’s not too late to do the right thing,” he said.
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