In their second regular floor meeting of the fall session, Assembly members voted in favor of a bill that would implement the health care reforms of the Affordable Care Act into Wisconsin law, but Democrats contend it includes provisions that would weaken transparency in the Legislature.

By a vote of 57-39, the Assembly voted in favor of the bill, which would implement federal health care reform provisions into law Tuesday.

As stated in the legislation, the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance is given authority to refuse the disclosure information of insurance rates if the information is deemed proprietary.

The commissioner is also given the authority of emergency rule making. Also, if a federal court rules the current state health insurance act unconstitutional, then insurers will be “exempt” from the coverage requirements incorporated into the bill.

The vote fell along partisan lines, with five nays from Republican representatives and three ayes from Democratic representatives.

Among the Democrats opposed to the bill is Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee. In session, Richards urged others to vote “no” on the bill, stating that passing the bill would be a step in the wrong direction for Wisconsin.

“[Implementing AB 210 would] chip away the rights of the people. People who really need help,” Richards said.

Richards also argued it is important health insurance rates are not kept secret, and the authority to hide insurance rates should not be granted to a administrative agency.

Robert Kraig, executive director for Citizen Action of Wisconsin, said the insurance industry in the state needs to be more open.

“It is absolutely crucial that we have more transparency about insurance rates. Insurance companies need to be more transparent about their reasons for raising rates,” Kraig said.

One of the primary issues, Kraig said, is that under the bill, the insurance commissioner has the authority to “sever” any federal law that has been deemed unconstitutional.

The bill could give the commissioner the authority to allow insurance companies to reject children with preexisting conditions and throw people off their insurance policy when they get sick, he said.

Kraig cited preventive care as another of Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s concerns regarding the bill. An amendment was proposed to the bill that stated grandfathered health plans, or health plans existing before Sept. 23, 2010, would not change and would not receive full coverage.

These plans do not have to provide preventive care, and free preventive care is crucial to preventing illness and high healthcare costs, Kraig said. The amendment was tabled in Tuesday’s session.

This is the first bill to move through committee and go to the floor that relates to the implementation of health care reform, Kraig said. He said if it was executed well, the bill could be a huge benefit to the state of Wisconsin.

“This is not the end of health care reform in Wisconsin,” Kraig said. “This is just the start of a whole lot of legislative discussion.”