Employers who face dramatic increases in health insurance premiums and employees who must pick up an increasing amount of their premiums realize that many factors drive accelerating costs. The General Assembly could impact this ominous trend by putting a halt to mandated benefits. Mandated benefits are specific coverages or medical services that a group health plan must offer to any policy holder as a result of state law. A current case in point is House Bill 89 and Senate Bill 19. These identical bills mandate coverage for colorectal cancer screening. No one would deny that these bills have the very best of intentions, just as the other 19 mandated benefits passed by the General Assembly did when adopted between 1992 and 1998.It is interesting that the two bills mentioned mandate testing coverage that is already part of the coverage of most plans offered in Kentucky. The larger question is this: Isnt the marketplace better suited to make these decisions than the legislature?Benefits to be included in a group health coverage plan must always be weighed against the overall cost. Members of each group can weigh benefits versus cost and select the plan that best fits their needs. This makes far more sense than the one size fits all that is inherent in mandates. Another bill dealing with health insurance is now pending in the legislature. HB 227 would allow insurance carriers to offer as an option a limited health benefit plan that excludes any or all the state-mandated health benefits. Had the General Assembly not been so mandate-happy in the past, there would be little justification for this bill. Since it was not, HB 227 has merit. According to a Kentucky Department of Insurance document, less than half of U.S. businesses with 10 or fewer employees offer health insurance. Affordable coverage, even if scaled down, could look good to those without it. It is disingenuous for those legislators who have consistently voted for mandates to decry the high cost of health insurance coverage when they contribute to the problem.