Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 18, 2024 23 FOCUS | HEALTH CARE Bill to allow chambers, trade groups to pool members for health benefits gains support By David Krechevsky davidk@hartfordbusiness.com L egislation that would allow trade associations and cham- bers of commerce to pool their members and offer self-funded health benefits has received broad private-sector support. Representatives of about 50 organizations — including chambers of commerce, trade groups, nonprofit organizations and private businesses — recently presented testimony to the state legislature's Insurance and Real Estate Committee in support of House Bill 5247. The legislation would allow qual- ifying chambers of commerce and trade associations to act as one large employer and offer their members self-funded health insurance benefits that would be strictly regulated. In his testimony, Wyatt Bosworth, a lobbyist for the Connecticut Busi- ness & Industry Association, described the bill as "the most comprehensive, consum- er-friendly Multiple Employer Welfare Agreement (MEWA) legislation in the country." He said it would provide small employers a new option for healthcare benefits. "One of the only tools small employers have that can boost work- force and productivity is the ability to offer comprehensive benefit packages that include affordable and bene- fit-rich health plans," Bosworth said. "Unfortunately, due to volatile market conditions, the small group market is becoming more consolidated and less affordable every year." Connecticut has seen multiple insurers exit the small group fully insured health insurance market in recent years, including ConnectiCare and Harvard Pilgrim. The insurers currently offering fully insured small group health plans in the state, for employers with 50 or fewer workers, are Anthem, Cigna, Aetna, Oxford Health and UnitedHealthcare. In 2023, they covered 75,830 lives, down 28.9% from the 106,658 lives covered by fully insured small group plans two years earlier. Between 2016 and 2022, the average annual single premium per enrolled employee for employ- er-based health insurance in Connecticut rose 25.9%, according to Bosworth. "As a result of these increases, small employers are increasingly shifting away from the small group market to self-funded and level- funded products in order to control costs while maintaining competitive benefit plans," he said. Bosworth cited a recent survey by the National Federation of Inde- pendent Business (NFIB), which found that 94% of small employers find it challenging to some degree to manage the cost of offering employ- er-sponsored health insurance. Allowing the creation of MEWA Trusts would benefit small employers, he said, while adding the plans are "subject to rigorous financial and solvency oversight by the respective state's Department of Insurance as well as the federal Department of Labor." The bill contains several require- ments for any health plans offered by associations, including: • Direct regulatory oversight by the state Insurance and Labor departments. • Strict requirements to offer robust plan benefits and design on par with the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) market. • Cover all ACA consumer protections codified under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). • Maintain stop-loss. • Apply consistent pooling points. • Offer plans on a guaranteed issue and guaranteed renewable basis. Other organizations that spoke in support of the legislation included the NFIB, Credit Union League of Connecticut, Motor Trans- port Association of Connecticut, Connecticut Retail Network, Connecticut Bar Association, and National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals. Several organizations presented testimony opposed to the legislation, including the American Lung Asso- ciation, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Cancer Society, Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG), and state Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health. Patient advocacy groups were opposed to a similar bill last year, concerned it would lead to the adoption of "bare-bones" health plans that side-step state insurance coverage mandates. Tom Swan, executive director of the CCAG, said his organiza- tion believes the bill "will weaken consumer protections, discriminate against employers with older and sicker employees, and destabilize the existing individual and small business marketplace." Wyatt Bosworth Insurers offering fully insured small group health plans in CT INSURER COVERED LIVES Anthem Health Plans .......................................................... 27,565 Oxford Health Insurance Inc. ............................................ 24,158 Cigna Health ....................................................................... 20,599 UnitedHealthcare ................................................................. 1,920 Oxford Health Plans (CT) Inc. .............................................. 1,483 Aetna ....................................................................................... 105 TOTAL ................................................................................. 75,830 Source: CT Dept. of Insurance GET ACCESS TO HBJ FOR YOUR ENTIRE TEAM! Email us! circulation@hartfordbusiness.com

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