Posted on: Friday, December 19, 2003

HMSA won't drop barbers

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

HMSA has changed course and decided not to cancel the health insurance policies of a group of barbers who have been covered by HMSA for 42 years.

About 50 barbers in the Hawai'i Barber and Barber Stylists Association received letters last week saying that the Hawaii Medical Service Association, the largest health insurance company in the state, planned to cancel their policies at the end of the year. No reason was given in the letter.

But HMSA officials now will send the barbers new letters saying they will continue to be covered, according to Cliff Cisco, HMSA's senior vice president.

The letter "will explain it was something we did not intend and so everything will remain as is," said Cisco. " ... Once I got involved, and others, we decided we should leave it just the way it is. It's a longtime, stable group."

Before the reversal, the state Insurance Division had forwarded the barbers' complaint to HMSA and gave HMSA 15 working days to respond. In a letter to HMSA, insurance officials asked for answers to several questions, such as the specific reason for canceling the barbers' policies.

The state's questions to HMSA are standard procedure after a complaint is received, said Deputy Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito. HMSA is required to reply, Ito said, and insurance officials will then decide whether there have been any violations of state law.

The insurance division has not received any other complaints from longtime groups like the barbers that have had their policies canceled, Ito said.

Although HMSA's decision to continue coverage was happy news, some of the barbers were left confused, angry and bitter over the experience.

Gary Lee and his wife, Luisa, work side by side in their A-Plus Barber shop in Kane'ohe and have separate HMSA policies that each cost $650 a month.

Gary Lee, 64, received a letter saying his policy would be canceled but his wife, who is 45, did not.

"None of the younger ones got the letters. They're trying to get rid of us because we use a lot of prescription drugs and see a lot of doctors," he said. "I don't know what they're thinking. Whoever's in charge, that was a dumb move. Not very smart."

The original HMSA letter arrived as Lee was trying to get into the Christmas spirit. But with two weeks notice that he would lose his health coverage, "that sent me into a panic," he said.

Harold Nakamoto, the 75-year-old president of the barbers association, received a call yesterday from an HMSA official explaining that HMSA decided to continue the barbers' health coverage. But Nakamoto also was left unsatisfied.

"I asked why and he gave me the run-around," Nakamoto said. "Then I asked for an apology and he said nothing."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.