Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Governor Signs Small Group Reform Bill
Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law last week legislation designed to introduce much needed market reforms for the Small Group Health Insurance Plan and hopefully reverse declining employer participation. SB 637, sponsored by Senator Rob Garagiola (D-Dist. 15), and HB 674, sponsored by Delegate Dan Morhaim (D-Dist. 11) will make the following changes to the Small Group Plan:
- Effective October 1, 2009 the bill: (1) Requires the Maryland Health Care Commission to maintain on its website data that small employers may use to compare premiums offered by small group carriers; and (2) Allows carriers to impose preexisting condition limitations for individuals to the same extent as larger group insurance policies (may reduce rates by up to 4 percent).
- Effective July 1, 2010 the bill: (1) Expands the permissible range of rates for rating bands to allow slightly higher rates for older groups and lower rates for younger groups; and (2) Allows a limited adjustment based on health status for the first three years that an employer joins the small group plan if they have not offered a health benefit in the prior 12 months.
See the bills online here.
Contact Ron Wineholt for further information at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) .
