FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                               Monday, May 19, 2008

Contact: Senator Kathleen Sgambati

(603) 271-3074

SGAMBATI’S SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE BILL SIGNED INTO LAW

CONCORD – Senators celebrated the signing into law of HealthFirst, a plan for providing more affordable health insurance for small businesses and their workers.

Governor John Lynch signed Senate Bill 540 into law today with the bill’s prime sponsor Senator Kathleen Sgambati (D-Tilton) and other supporters at his side.

“This law gives us a way to contain rising insurance costs for a critical segment of our economy – our small businesses. It does so not by limiting healthcare services but by using a wellness model to create some of the same savings that many large companies have negotiated into their insurance contracts,” said Sgambati.

Lynch had promoted the concept of an affordable health insurance product for small business, using a “wellness” model to produce savings. Sgambati worked with the governor to bring the bill forward and advocated for it before the House and Senate.

The law requires major insurance carriers in the state to offer a standard wellness plan for small businesses with up to 50 employees. Premium costs would be controlled by focusing on prevention, managing chronic conditions and promoting best practices. Similar legislation in Rhode Island produced a savings of more than 15 percent for small businesses compared to other forms of coverage available in the market.

The New Hampshire Hamplaw calls for the state Department of Insurance to set up a special advisory committee that includes small business owners. The committee would design the wellness plan with a target premium price of 10 percent of the prior year’s median wage, currently about $262 per month.

“It changes the conversation between employers and insurers. Hopefully this will set the stage for greater efficiencies, for competition, for evidence-based practices,” she said. “These are result we can then apply to other health care costs.”