This bill establishes an Uncompensated Health Care Fund, administered by the Department of Insurance in New Hampshire, to support non-profit safety net health care providers serving uninsured individuals and those on Medicaid. The fund will be financed through a surcharge on commercial insurers, reinsurers, and trusts managing self-insured plans. Key legal changes include the insertion of a new section, RSA 400-A:39-c, which details the fund's creation and funding mechanism, and amendments to existing statutes to ensure that the costs of the assessment cannot be recovered by insurance carriers or passed on to consumers. The bill also mandates the formation of an advisory committee to recommend criteria for determining the annual level of uncompensated care to be funded and allocation formulas for qualified providers.

The bill introduces new provisions defining "uncompensated care" as medically necessary services for uninsured individuals not eligible for government programs. Concerns have been raised regarding the ambiguous definition, which may inadvertently discourage insurance coverage and increase the financial burden on health insurers. Additionally, the bill prohibits payors from passing assessment costs onto consumers, potentially reducing profit margins and driving insurers out of the New Hampshire market, which could lead to decreased premium tax revenues and increased uncompensated care. The Department anticipates needing to hire additional staff to implement the bill, resulting in significant projected expenditures. Overall, the bill poses considerable financial and administrative challenges for the state, with potential implications for health care access and insurance coverage.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 404-G:1, 404-G:2, 6:12