State lawmakers today/Wednesday agreed to kill a provision that would have capped health insurance premiums for two years.
The initiative was a response to double digit increases for most New Hampshire businesses.
Those increases came despite passage of legislation last year that was supposed to keep health insurance priced down through competition.
But many small businesses are complaining the changes have resulted in skyrocketing premium increases.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports.
Republican Representative Rogers Johnson says the idea to cap insurance premium hikes would have been a disaster.
The biggest problem says Johnson, who chaired the conference committee assigned to the measure, was that it was blatantly unfair.
The cap would apply only to the renewal of a health insurance contract.
And as Johnson points out, new insurance carriers don't have to renew anybody's contract.
1:30 the new companies would be able to price accordingly, the old companies would abide by the cap, and then those companies would be adversely impacted, driving those rates through the roof, and the new companies would undercut them severely. That's unlevling the playing field and that is not the thing we would want to do.
Senate lawmakers originally supported the cap because constituents have complained about premium increases of 40-and 50%, instead of the usual 15-20%.
Tim Sink is the president of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce.
He has conducted a survey of chamber members from across the state.
3:59 we are seeing some companies that are suffering a much larger swing in premium. There is more of an instance of the 40-50% increases that were quite rare before. But if you look overall, some have actually decreased. So the aggregate is maybe in the mid-20's. that is not a scientific figure, that is based on a survey we've done. But if I was one of those employers who saw a 50% increase, that would scare the heck out of me.
Gretta Coco is the insurance advisor for the chambers of commerce in New Hampshire.
She says recent changes in the law have made it harder for employers to budget for healthcare.
The new law, known as SB 110, allows insurance carriers to set rates based on the location of a business, and the health of its employees.
Coco says, as the health of people fluctuates from year to year, so does the price of the health insurance.
But what is predictable says Coco is that employer will pass on the cost.
2:22 I think it's going to be more devastating then helpful. What is going to happen is the employers that get higher than a normal 15-20% normal rate increase will be passing those on to higher deductiblies, higher co-pays.
Representative Rogers Johnson is asking critics of SB 110 to be patient.
He says the jump in premium rates will slow as the market sorts itself out.
Johnson says the new law is doing what it was designed to do: bring in competition.
He reasons the presence of new companies will drive down prices.
In the meantime, for those facing dramatic hikes in costs, the Representative has this advice.
5:33 the 60% increase can be mitigated by a couple of things, looking at who is providing the programs...also do some analysis and evaluation of the claims you have. If your claims are really high b/c of some reason, is it possible, you won't have a repeat of those claims. A good broker they are working with, can help negotiate better rates going forward.
Johnson's confidence in the new law is in stark contrast to the lack of confidence expressed by more more than a few New Hampshire businesses.
It's likely that as the elections near, both parties will do what they can to court that concern.
For NHPR News, I'm DG.
