ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 21

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

216th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  JON M. BRAMNICK

District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)

Assemblyman  PAUL D. MORIARTY

District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Urges health insurance providers and prescription drug providers to offer option of speaking to or leaving a message for a human.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

 


An Assembly Resolution urging health insurance providers and prescription drug providers to offer method of speaking to or leaving a message for a human.

 

Whereas, An increasing number of health insurance providers and prescription drug providers are using automated telephone answering services to receive calls, process transactions, and direct callers to appropriate extensions; and

Whereas, These systems are often difficult to accurately navigate, especially for senior citizens and individuals with impaired hearing; and

Whereas, It is not uncommon for such automated telephone answering services to be designed without a simple and clear method of contacting a human telephone operator or representative; and

Whereas, Consumers often spend excessive lengths of time trying to access a person to speak directly with so that they can resolve simple concerns; and

Whereas, In light of all these factors, it is important to encourage health insurance providers and prescription drug providers which use automated telephone answering services to provide a uniform method of contacting a human operator or representative; now, therefore,

 

     Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    The General Assembly urges health insurance providers and prescription drug providers which use automated telephone answering services to offer individuals who contact them by telephone during normal business hours the option of pressing zero on their telephone in order to speak to or leave a recorded message for a human telephone operator or representative.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This resolution urges health insurance providers and prescription drug providers which use automated telephone answering services to offer individuals who contact them by telephone during normal business hours the option of pressing zero on their telephone in order to speak to or leave a recorded message for a human telephone operator or representative.