Stauffer said that in 1998, the number has declined to around 100 bills. First, it's an election year. Third, many state legislatures have shorter sessions this year. In 1997, many states also passed comprehensive regulatory bills aimed at various aspects of the managed care industry. This year, lawmakers may be waiting for the new regulatory bodies to assess areas of need before plunging ahead with new bills.
Some states are more aggressive about new legislation than others.
At least 20 states are considering mental health parity bills. But Coorsh believes that state action is appropriate. It's always been in the province of the states to regulate the industry. Indeed, the states have had primary responsibility for regulating insurance of all kinds since 1945, when Congress passed the McCarron-Ferguson Act. In recent years, however, the federal government has assumed a larger role in regulating health care, first through the Medicare and Medicaid programs and later through the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act , which sets the standards for self-insured companies and labor union plans.