HB43!! Mandated Insurance Coverage. ACT NOW.

I have cut and pasted the info received from Dr. Celio Burrowes support group meeting. Take the time to do this. It's a simple way to be counted! We are the only voice that can make this happen. ______________________________________________________________ "Per our meeting I have placed a copy of the letter to the web site and we need you to print and forward to your legislators. Get a copy of the letter by clicking here. http://www.gcfbs.com/news/index.html Letter to legislators on Bill 43 We must get actively involved in making this bill a reality. Please copy and distribute to your job, your family, your church or anyone that will take the time to send this letter to your Georgia legislator. You are encouraged to make calls also. The number for Secretary of State office is 404-656-2881. A copy of the complete bill may be viewed by accessing http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/search/hb43.htm We can make this happen, If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Contact the Secretary of State office to identify your legislator for your specific address."

This is a good start, but it will not effect most of the people with exclusions for surgical treatment of morbid obesity. The bill only applies to fully funded insurance policies, and coverage of State employees. Unfortunately, 80% of all people who have health coverage thru their employers, are covered under self insured employee benefit plans. Those plans are subject to Federal ERISA statutes, and not individual State laws. The Department of Labor oversees these plans, not the Insurance Commissioner of each state. We also need to write our US Senators and let them know that they need to change the ERISA statutues. Originally, ERISA was written to protect employees, but in actuality, it protects employers.