N.H. Learns Fixing Small Group Law Won’t Necessarily Fix Health Costs

New Hampshire insurance agent Eleanor Spinazzola said she had one client, a lawyer, abandon his private practice to work for a large law firm after his health insurance premium shot up to $3,800 a month.

It’s horror stories like these that led her and other insurance agents to get together earlier this month to talk about reforms to the law known as Senate Bill 110. The forum, organized by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New Hampshire, included discussion on how best to regulate small business health insurance.

But most agreed changing the rules would just change who wins and loses when it comes to higher premiums. It won’t stop the overall rise in the cost of health insurance.

Look deeper
“To address the cost of medical care is paramount,” said state Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny. “We don’t do anybody a service if we don’t look deeper at what’s going on.”
Don Curry, general manager of CIGNA Health Care, blamed part of the problem on doctors and hospitals forced to charge insured patients more to compensate for money lost treating those who rely on public assistance. The state does not reimburse enough to cover the expense of Medicare and Medicaid patients and hospitals also must treat the uninsured and make up the loss, he noted.

Sonia Pearsall, an insurance agent from Hillsboro, said small co-payments give people little reason to hesitate before seeing a doctor or filling a prescription.

“If SB110 has helped us at all, it’s helped us see there is severe high utilization,” she said.

“The reality is we’re all part of the problem, and we’re all part of the solution,” said insurance agent W. Patrick Hughes of Portsmouth. “We have an entitlement mind-set in this country.”

Dumb luck
Insurance agent Richard White cautioned against blaming those with health problems for rising premiums.
“Sometimes it’s just dumb luck and you will get sick,” he said.

White supports repeal of Senate Bill 110 because he believes it’s forcing businesses to drop or reduce insurance coverage for employees. If insurance is about spreading risk, “we need to get everybody paying at least something,” he said.

Senate Bill 110 has been law for less than two years and set new rules for insuring businesses of up to 50 employees. It marked a major change from the previous law, which restricted what insurers could consider in setting rates.

The law allowed insurers to consider factors such as the health of employees, their industry and where they lived. The goal was to attract more insurers into the state and lower rates by increasing competition.

While more insurers did come into the state, insurance premiums for many of the smallest businesses exploded, and the new law became a campaign issue for Gov. John Lynch who wants to repeal it.

Sen. Robert Flanders (R-Antrim), was one of the bill’s leading proponents, but he said he is willing to tweak the bill if it helps stabilize insurance rates.

Other lawmakers have proposals ranging from study committees to a return to the old system. Those likely will receive public hearings in House and Senate committees beginning in March, lawmakers said.