LD 1175
pg. 6
Page 5 of 7 An Act To Improve the Affordability of Individual and Small Group Health Insura... Page 7 of 7
Download Bill Text
LR 1542
Item 1

 
that all health benefit plans offered by health maintenance
organizations meet or exceed each of the particular requirements
of standard or basic health plans specified in Bureau of
Insurance Rule, Chapter 750. The superintendent may select
required services from among those set forth in Bureau of
Insurance Rule, Chapter 750 and shall permit reasonable, but not
excessive or unfairly discriminatory, variations in the
copayment, coinsurance, deductible and other features of such
coverage, except that these features must meet or exceed those
required in benefits mandated by statute. Rules adopted
pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A 2-A.

 
Sec. 14. Reinsurance mechanism plan; individual health plans. That section of
this Act that enacts the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 24-A,
section 2736-C, subsection 10 does not take effect until the
Superintendent of Insurance has approved a plan developed by
the Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance, created by
Executive Order 6 FY 02/03, pursuant to rules adopted by the
Department of Human Services, Bureau of Medical Services. The
plan may permit spreading individual risks evenly over the
entire health insurance market through a risk adjustment
mechanism that assesses carriers with lower-than-average risks
to fund the excess costs of carriers with higher-than-average
risks. The plan may allow partial integration of these
individual risks with a cap on the increment to group
premiums. The plan may not establish a separate health
insurance plan, allow carriers to avoid or reject high-risk
policyholders, reduce the insured's benefits or increase cost-
sharing. The superintendent may approve a plan only after the
superintendent determines that the plan is in the public
interest and is consistent with this section and Title 24-A,
section 2736-C. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are
major, substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375,
subchapter 2-A.

 
Sec. 15. Reinsurance mechanism plan, small group health plans. That section of
this Act that repeals and replaces the Maine Revised Statutes,
Title 24-A, section 2808-B, sub-section 9 does not take effect
until the Superintendent of Insurance has approved a plan
developed by the Governor's Office of Health Policy and
Finance, created by Executive Order 6 FY 02/03, pursuant to
rules adopted by the Department of Human Services, Bureau of
Medical Services. The plan may permit spreading the risks
evenly over the entire health insurance market through a risk
adjustment mechanism that assesses carriers with lower-than-
average risks to fund the excess costs of carriers with
higher-than-average risks. The plan may allow partial
integration of these small group risks with a cap on the
increment to group premiums. The plan may not establish a
separate health insurance plan, allow carriers to


Page 5 of 7 Top of Page Page 7 of 7