Sticking with his pledge to change SB 110, Governor Lynch signed SB 125. SB 110 had originally allowed health insurance companies to take into consideration medical conditions and set rates accordingly. The result was a massive increase in health insurance rates across the state.
SB 125 should change that by limiting what the companies can use in setting rates.
[T]he bill, sponsored by state Sens. Maggie Hassan (D) and Ted Gatsas (R), revises a law (SB 110) enacted last year by eliminating geography and health status as rating factors. The new law includes age as a rating factor, but "restor[es] the age factor to the same ratio it was before SB 110" was enacted. The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2006, also limits premium increases at 20%. In addition, the new law establishes a reinsurance pool for high-risk policies. Lynch said, "For the past two years, New Hampshire’s small businesses have struggled under the effects of a law known as SB 110. Although passed with good intentions, this law sent health insurance premiums for our small businesses skyrocketing" (Manning, Foster’s Daily Democrat, 7/6)
Read more here at Medical News Today
Jim
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