New Hampshire Measure Would Create Health Insurance Pool

New Hampshire lawmakers and officials this week debated the merits of legislation that would create a health insurance pool for "high-risk" residents in an effort "to make individual health insurance plans" more affordable, the Nashua Telegraph reports. Senate Majority Leader Gary Francouer (R) has introduced two bills (SB 118 and 119) that would allow insurers to "vary premiums" based on an individual's health. Insurers could refuse to cover people with serious health conditions, who would then be "placed in a high-risk pool financed by a tax against all insurance customers" (Landrigan, Nashua Telegraph, 3/8). Supporters of this legislation say it is necessary to reverse the exodus of insurers from the state that followed the passage of a 1994 law "that guaranteed all residents access to health insurance" (Ayotte, AP/ New Hampshire Citizen, 3/8). Since then, the number of insurers covering individuals and small business has declined from more than 24 to four. Francoeur said that variation in the price of premiums was needed to create competition among individuals and small businesses and to entice younger, healthier individuals to buy insurance by lowering their premiums (Nashua Telegraph, 3/8). At a hearing of the Senate Insurance Committee on March 7, Raymond White of the New Hampshire Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors told lawmakers that Francoeur's plan to place "high-risk policy owners" in a separate pool would lower the cost of standard policies. The "latitude" in setting premium rates for the insurers' remaining beneficiaries, in turn, would attract more insurers to the state, increasing competition and lowering overall costs, he said.

A High-Risk Plan?
However, Alex Feldvebel, deputy commissioner of the state Insurance Department, told the committee that increased competition wouldn't "necessarily lessen costs," which have been driven in recent years by prescription drugs and medical technologies. He also warned that creating a high-risk pool would make insurance unaffordable for many sick and elderly residents. The measure calls for those in the pool to be subject to no higher than a 200% increase over a standard premium, a cap that Feldvebel said was too high, adding that most states with high-risk pools have a 150% limit (AP/New Hampshire Citizen, 3/8). According to a report issued recently by Insurance Commissioner Paula Rodgers, under the plan, healthy nonsmokers in their 40s would see a premium decrease, while an unhealthy 62-year old smoker would see his or her premium double. "We believe SB 118 would sacrifice affordability for the elderly," Feldvebel said. Anthem Blue Cross of New Hampshire, one of the two insurers in the state that offers coverage to small businesses, also has stated its opposition to what it called a "far-reaching and unpredictable" reform plan (Nashua Telegraph, 3/8).