Ohio Senate committee holds third hearing on bill to authorize Farm Bureau health plans

The Senate Financial Institutions, Insurance and Technology Committee on Tuesday held a third hearing on Senate Bill 100, which would allow nonprofit agricultural membership organizations to offer Farm Bureau health plans that the bill describes as not being ‘‘health insurance’’ and would not be subject to state insurance regulation.

Advocates for people with chronic and serious illnesses told the committee the bill could expose Ohioans with preexisting conditions to higher costs, coverage gaps and retrospective denials. Kezia Ofosuwata, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Ohio, said Farm Bureau plans ‘‘lack regulation at the state level’’ and could market misleading products that fail to cover essential treatments for asthma, COPD, lung cancer and other lung diseases.

The concerns were echoed by Lee Almeida, Ohio government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, who said SB 100 plans would not have to follow state consumer protections such as coverage for cancer screenings, limits on out-of-pocket costs or access to clinical trials and oral chemotherapy. Almeida said that, in past cases, cancer patients have faced large medical…