The New Hampshire House Commerce Committee heard testimony today/yesterday on legislation to reform health insurance regulations in the state.
Supporters say the changes will revive a troubled insurance market, but critics say the legislation would chiefly benefit profit- hungry insurance companies.
NHPR's David Darman has more.
The Commerce Committee is considering two health insurance measures that were passed last week by the state senate. One bill would create a high risk pool for individuals. That bill has bipartisan support. But the second bill would make significant reforms to state rules for health insurance for small groups. Assistant Deputy Speaker Keith Herman of Milford, says the changes contained in Senate bill one nineteen are necessary, given the climate of rising rates and restricted services.
09 the fact is, business community thinks we?ve done nothing to lower the cost of health care in the state of nh. We need to do something. 119 is a step in the piece, a piece in the puzzle, of how we lower health care costs for people in nh 09 26
Herman and other Republicans say the bill would bring additional insurers into the state, and break the stranglehold on business currently held by just two companies, Cigna, and Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
State Insurance Commissioner Paula Rogers is sympathetic to the need to relieve high prices, but she says Senate Bill one-nineteen comes at a steep cost, since it allows insurance carriers to price coverage based on the healthiness of members. Rogers says that practice is known as ?cherry picking? and was ended a few years ago in New Hampshire.
14 05 what 119 will actually do is to reintroduce the concept of health, as a rating factor. That means that an employer standing behind me, he or she would have to know exactly what the demographics of his or employee group would be. And the health status, because the health status would now become a rating factor.
Advocates of Senate Bill one-nineteen see nothing wrong with this approach to providing health coverage. These advocates say that individuals who smoke are a greater risk than someone who does not, so a smoker should pay more for insurance than a non-smoker. Tom Murtagh is an insurance broker who?s part of ?The Coalition of Better Health?, a trade group. He says the state?s practice of banding people together in a group, known as ?community rating?, has caused insurers to flee this state and others.
15 448 the truth is, states with laws that mandate community rating in the small group market, like nh, vt, me, ma, ny, nj and a few others have seen their markets disintrigrate, similar to ours, but 38 states and the district of Columbia that allow some premium rating bands, like sb 119 would allow, have more competitive markets. 15 518
Critics of the bill say Murtagh and other advocates are drawing the wrong conclusions from the data. They say New Hampshire is small state, and like other small states, high costs and company mis-steps have conspired to leave just one or two health insurance providers here. Governor Jeanne Shaheen says there is a need for reforms in health insurance regulations, but the reforms spelled out in this measure will not bring competition, or lower prices.
07 38 as written, senate bill 119 will not help consumers. Rather, it will leave our smallest groups at greatest risk for extreme rate shock. And when I?m talking about consumers, I?m not just talking about the people who are being covered by health insurance, I?m also talking about those businesses who are looking to buy health insurance for their employees. 07 106
In her testimony before the House Commerce Committee, the governor gave no indication if she would veto one nineteen if it reaches her desk. Instead, the governor and other Democrats are hoping to derail the measure long before it leaves the committee. Still, their prospects are not great, since the measure has already passed the state senate, where the Republican majority is just a slim 2 votes.
For N H P R News, I?m DD
