Legislative Update
April 28, 2003
 

Senate begins its work on the State Budget

This week the New Hampshire Senate begins its scrutiny of the budget sent to it by the House of Representatives. The House budget provides no new funding for hospital services and therefore reduces payments to hospitals by at least 20% without factoring in the 11% growth in Medicaid enrollment and utilization.

Senate Finance Chair Dick Green expects to move things along quickly in order have a draft budget completed by mid-May. We met with Senator Green last week and told him that the budget must provide hospitals at least present levels of funding and sufficient funds to account for the increase in Medicaid enrollment and utilization, neither of which the House took into account.

Click here to read NHHA’s testimony. Let your senators know how these cuts, if passed, will impact your hospital. Go to NH Legislators for contact information.

The Senate’s Certificate of Need bill undergoes overhaul in House

The House Health & Human Services Committee is rewriting Senate Bill 163 in the image of the House passed CON bill which abolishes the CON Board, transfers the review of capital projects to the HHS Commissioner, and limits CON regulatory oversight to inpatient services only. The only outpatient service that would be reviewed is freestanding surgicenters in rural areas of the state. NHHA is opposed to these changes and supports the senate version of SB 163, which retains the CON Board and updates the CON statute to require review of medical equipment acquired through an operating lease.

House of Representatives begins its work on Health Care Data bill

A hearing was held last week on Senate Bill 78 to create a quasi-governmental agency to collect and analyze health care data. The Insurance Department is promoting SB 78, and though the Senate removed the $700,000 fee assessment on hospitals and health plans, the proposed Health Care Information Council would duplicate work already carried out by the Department of Health & Human Services as well as work that DHHS is already authorized to conduct. Kathy Bizarro testified against SB 78 on behalf of NHHA. Click here read Kathy’s testimony.
 

Medical and Hospital Liability Insurance – May 6th Hearing on Loss of Opportunity bill

Senate Bill 119 is scheduled to be heard before the House Judiciary Committee on May 6th. NHHA supports SB 119 which ensures that the Loss of Opportunity doctrine is kept out of New Hampshire statute. The Loss of Opportunity doctrine, if not specifically removed from the law, allows patients to recover compensation for a new type of "injury" -- the loss of opportunity for a better outcome. The bill includes language that dispels concerns about legal action in cases such as the Duke University case (where the patient died after a mismatched heart-lung transplant).


House of Representatives begins its work on the Senate’s small group health insurance bill

The House Commerce Committee heard 4½ hours of testimony last week on SB 110, which changes the definition of small employer from 1-100 to 2-50 employees and changes rating factors that determine how a premium is calculated for the small group market. NHHA is opposed to SB 110 because it undermines the current community rating structure thereby increasing premiums for small businesses. SB 110 changes the age bands from 3:1 to 4:1, thereby impacting the oldest age groups negatively; adds health status rating factors; and uses industry and geography in the small group premium calculations. Supporters of SB 110 contend that it will increase competition, and opponents argue that the bill widens the gap between premiums for lower risk and higher risk insureds thereby making it more difficult for small employers to offer health benefits.