Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Maryland Chamber Urges Small Group Reform
Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Ron Wineholt testified this morning before Maryland’s Joint Committee on Health Care Delivery and Financing about potential changes to the small group health insurance plan.
“As one-half of our members have fewer than 50 employees, this is a key issue for our membership,” Wineholt said.
Wineholt told lawmakers that trends in the small group market suggest that design changes are needed. There has been a 14 percent decline in employer participation since 1999. Less than 40 percent of eligible small businesses participate. There has been a 12 percent decline in covered employees. Finally, there has been a continued decline in carriers offering small group.
Small group reforms advocated by the Maryland Chamber include:
- Broadening the rating bands;
- Incorporating rating factors that will encourage cost containment; and
- Attracting low risk participants to strengthen the pool.
“We would support liberalizing the current narrow rating requirements to allow gender, health status and wider rating bands,” Wineholt said. “We must reduce the heavy subsidies that the current rating methodology requires so that we can attract more of the young and healthy to the pool.”
To view the Chamber’s testimony, click here (pdf).
For more information, contact Wineholt at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
