Choas in Albany jeopardizes several health reform bills

June 19, 2:48 PMHealth Care ExaminerSheila Guilloton

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Senator Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate leaders of the
coup which claims to have taken over the New York state Senate

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There was a coup in Albany on June 8, 2009.  Yes, I said Albany not Chad, not Oman or Burkina Faso, Albany, New York. Senators Pedro Espada of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens effectively halted all legislative work in the New York State Senate by defecting from the Democratic to the Republican Party.

The move by the 2 “former” democrats shifted the majority in the senate to the Republican Party    Now a Republican Senator Pedro Espada was sworn in as President pro tem. Mark Hansen, spokesman for the Senate’s GOP conference called the action a ‘Historic change in leadership.”

If the move sticks, Espada would replace Malcolm Smith who was elected to his post of Senate President and Majority Leader in January 2008. Smith was the first African-American majority leader in the history of the New York Senate and was also the first Democratic leader in more than 40 years.

But things got complicated when Hiram Monserrate returned to the Democratic Party. His move back creates a 31-31 split in the Senate. A court order issued last week by Supreme Court Judge Thomas McNamara dismissed a suit brought by Smith to regain control of the Senate from Espada. But the judge did suggest, strongly, that the two parties work together to resolve the argument on their own because it would be an  “improvident intrusion” if the judicial branch imposed a solution upon the legislative branch.

The court did however issued an order preventing Espada from assuming the duties of temporary president, which include becoming acting governor if Gov. David Paterson leaves the state or becomes incapacitated. Gov. Paterson told reporters he had no intention of leaving the state until the matter of who leads the Senate is settled.

When the governor travels beyond the state's borders, the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor. Since there is no lieutenant governor, the next in line is the leader of the State Senate.

Before the coup, the Senate was debating four pieces of health care legislation. The first bill would require health insurance plans to receive prior approval from the Insurance Department for rates for individual and small group policies before they would be allowed to sell the plans in the public market. Under this proposal the Insurance Department would have the power to modify rates and require a medical loss ratio of 85%.

The second proposal is the Governor’s “Managed Care Reform Bill.” This bill would make a variety of changes to the managed care process such as limiting the ability of plans to recoup overpayments to providers and reducing the timeframe for payment of claims to providers.

The third measure would have expanded COBRA continuation from 18 to 36 months.

The last bill would require insurance companies to cover unmarried children on their parents policy until age 29 whether or not the child was financially dependent on their parents.

Whether or not the Senate will considers these bills, if and when they return to session, is unknown.

Just in case you think this was merely a disagreement among gentlemen, consider this.  During the coup, Democrats fled the chamber, turned out the lights, and cut off the Internet feed of chamber proceedings and left the  Republicans and their  two new Senators  to take the vote in the dark.

Today the Democrats employed a unique strategy to ensure that the Senate could not be called to order. They locked the massive, iron doors leading into the Senate chambers.

Meanwhile, Senator Espada has served notice on the Secretary of the Senate, Angelo Aponte,  a Smith loyalist, that he is firing him.

No resolution is in sight.