Donelon, Talbot, Thibaut and Smith Join Forces to Stabilize Health Insurance Market

Targeted News Service (Press Releases)

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 11 -- The Louisiana Department of Insurance issued the following news release:

Insurance Commissioner James Donelon is joining with Representative Kirk Talbot and Representative Major Thibaut along with Senator John Smith to urge the Louisiana Legislature to support House Bill 472 creating a state-wide reinsurance pool that will stabilize the state's ailing individual market for health insurance. The bill passed the Louisiana House of Representatives by a 63 - 34 vote and will now head to the State Senate for further action.

"In the last five years, insurance rates in the individual market have more than doubled while the number of health insurers doing business in the state has declined from 16 to 2," said Insurance Commissioner James Donelon. "The individual market where tens of thousands of self-employed Louisianans get their health care coverage, along with thousands of other Louisiana residents who do not have access to employer sponsored insurance, is in serious jeopardy of entering a death spiral where rates continue to climb and many decide to go uninsured."

House Bill 472 proposes that Louisiana create a program to provide reinsurance for high dollar claims. The program would mirror a federal program that existed for three years after the creation of the Healthcare Marketplace through the Affordable Care Act. Louisiana's program would authorize Commissioner Donelon to impose a fee of approximately $1.40 per month on all insured lives to fund the reinsurance program. In addition, the state would be eligible for the use of federal matching dollars that will help Louisiana achieve a higher rate reduction in the individual health insurance market than was previously achieved through the federal program. The reinsurance program could lead to rate reductions of about 15% in the individual market. The small fee on Louisiana policies would attract more than $100 million in matching federal funds. HB 472 has bipartisan and bicameral support including that of Representative Kirk Talbot, Chairman of the House Insurance Committee, and the committee's vice chairman, Representative Major Thibaut and Senator John Smith, Chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee.