Signed by Governor John Lynch

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the insurance commissioner to hold annual public hearings and prepare an annual report on health care costs in New Hampshire.

Highlights:

-Requires the insurance commissioner to hold an annual public hearing concerning private and public health care payer costs and cost trends to identify what factors contribute to cost increases in health insurance premiums and health care services in New Hampshire (Sec. 1). -Requires the commissioner to identify variations in the price that health carriers pay for health care services and shall undertake further analysis to determine whether the observed price variations correlate to the following (Sec. 1):

-Quality of care; -Sickness or the complexity of the population served; -Relative proportion of patients on Medicare or Medicaid that are served by the health care provider; -Cost to the health care provider of delivering the service; or -The relative proportion of free or reduced care provided to the uninsured.

-Authorizes the commissioner to require any health care provider, health insurer, or third party administrator to produce documents and information necessary and relevant to evaluate the factors that contribute to cost growth in health care services, increased utilization of health care, and health insurance premium costs (Sec. 1). -Requires the commissioner to prepare an annual report concerning health care cost drivers and cost trends (Sec. 1). -Requires the report to include recommendations and strategies for increasing the efficiency of New Hampshire's health care financing and delivery system and requires its submission to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by November 1 of each year (Sec. 1). -Prohibits a hospital from charging uninsured patients more than the average amount received by that hospital from patients covered by health maintenance organizations for services rendered (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text