Insurance official warns that 50,000 could lose coverage in NH
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Insurance Commissioner
-- State Insurance Commissioner
"Our concern is that we could end up with a market failure, with no individual coverage available in the state," he said in an appeal to the
He came away empty handed as the committee declined to take any votes, and will instead reconvene on Tuesday.
Sevigny warned that absent any intervention, the state could face a situation in which health insurance is not readily available to individuals not covered by their employer or some other group insurance plan.
Approximately 100,000
Four companies currently offer policies to individuals on healthcare.gov --
So far, Minuteman has already pulled out for 2018, and Ambetter insures mostly the expanded Medicaid population, leaving Harvard Pilgrim and
The department's proposal calls for what would essentially be a
The program would be funded with
An earlier version of the plan had
There are 72 insurance companies that offer health insurance in the state, mostly through the employer-based market. All of them would contribute to the
Sevigny wanted permission from the committee to apply for the federal funding and take other steps needed to move the proposal forward, but he was rejected.
Instead, the committee decided to wait a week to get answers to a number of questions, including the position of Gov.
After Wednesday's hearing, he reiterated his opposition. "I am not convinced that an assessment that would be passed on to consumers across all insurance markets is the right approach," he said in a statement.
Sununu said he asked the
If the current plan is implemented, Sevigny said, the projected rate increases in the individual market would decline from about 40 percent to 32 percent, and increases in the broader market premiums due to the assessment would be around 1 percent.
Acting Committee Chair
"I understand the department is concerned and sees an opportunity, and I think it's great they came forward, but I don't think there is big enough bang for the buck here," he said. "Personally, I don't think I can vote for this now or a month from now."
Representatives of
"I didn't hear the kind of commitment I wanted to hear from the insurance companies that if we do this, it will keep the carriers in the market," said Majority Leader
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