May 22. 2017 7:55PM
Sununu proposes return of high-risk pool
By MARK HAYWARD
New Hampshire Union Leader
Gov. Chris Sununu and the state’s top
insurance official on Monday backed a revision in state law that would allow
officials to waive some of the provisions of Obamacare — including provisions
addressing pre-existing conditions.
In a joint statement, Sununu and New
Hampshire Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny endorsed an amendment to House Bill 469, which they said would authorize Sevigny to
seek federal waivers if they would keep insurance affordable and available in
the state.
On Sunday, the New Hampshire Sunday News reported about a
document that details a potential premium increase of 44 percent next year on
the Obamacare Exchange.
Meanwhile, the Insurance Department released
tallies that showed that New Hampshire insurance carriers lost a dime for every
premium dollar they collected last year writing insurance on the Obamacare
Exchange.
Collectively, insurers lost $43 million in the individual
market in 2016; premium revenues amounted to $431 million.
In his
statement, Sununu said that it is evident that several critical areas of
Obamacare are not working.
“New Hampshire faces the threat that we are
staring down the cannon of potentially astronomical rate increases, and state
leaders cannot stand idly by while Granite Staters face the possibility of
getting hammered with those costs,” he said.
In a statement, Democratic
Party leader Raymond Buckley said Sununu has already suggested opting out of
women’s health care coverage, substance abuse treatment and mental
health.
“If Sununu is already beginning the process of opting out of
common sense protections, it’s hard to assume that any provision is safe,”
Buckley said.
Sununu and Sevigny stressed that any waiver would depend on
Congressional action.
They said the amendment to HB 469 calls for a
reinvigoration of the The New Hampshire Health Plan, an agency that
formerly operated the state’s high-risk pool. It would work with the Insurance
Department to investigate options for assisting the individual
market.
One possibility includes a high-risk pool insurance program for
people with pre-existing conditions. Another would be a reinsurance mechanism
that could be available for insurance companies to provide coverage to high-cost
individuals, the two said.
A key provision of Obamacare prohibits
insurance companies from charging Exchange customers more for pre-existing
conditions, as well as refusing them insurance all together. The Department
detailed losses in the 2016 Obamacare Marketplace were:
• Anthem’s
Matthew Thornton Health Plan, $4.5 million.
• Minuteman, $27.5
million.
• Harvard Pilgrim, $8 million.
• Ambetter, $4.8
million.
• Community Health Options, which left the market in 2016, $10.9
million.
“The individual market covers more than 100,000 people in the
state, and it’s critical that we explore all options available to us,” Sevigny
said.
The Department has yet to receive 2018 rates from the four
insurance companies.
mhayward@unionleader.com