Disappeared News

Citizen Voice released a letter addressed to Speaker of the House Calvin Say calling for the removal of intern Mark Forman from Rep. Herkes' office:

Citizen Voice expects you, as speaker, to remove the healthcare insurance industry representatives from Chairman Herkes office and put Bill SB2917 back to its original wording and pass it in order to reinstate rate regulation of the healthcare insurance industry.

I imagine that not too many people follow the legislative process very closely. If more small businesses were watching this bill, they might understand that it can very seriously impact how much they must pay HMSA/Kaiser and other insurers for the health plans that they are required to provide under Hawaii law.

Now, if the law requires them to provide this coverage, shouldn't the legislature have some responsibility when HMSA/Kaiser try to co-opt the process by writing their own amendment to weaken the regulation of their rates and having a sympathetic committee chair push it forward without public input?

Small businesses of the state arise; you have nothing to lose but your profits.