SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1576        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 687

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Michael O. Moore

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to small business health insurance incentives.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1576        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 687

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to small business health insurance incentives.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1: Chapter 176J of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended after section 13 by inserting the following new section:-

Section 13A. The annual rewards or other incentives authorized by section 13(d) of this chapter may also be based upon increased efficiencies in a carrier’s administration of health plans offered through the cooperative resulting from the group purchase of said plans, or upon the use of transparency tools by the cooperative to control healthcare costs for members or to educate members regarding proper utilization.

SECTION 2: Section 3 of said chapter 176J of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended after paragraph (d) by inserting the following new paragraph:-

(e) Notwithstanding this chapter or any other general or special law to the contrary, a carrier may annually offer small groups a reward or other incentive designed to promote job growth and job retention among small businesses. The amount of such rewards shall be determined by the carrier based upon differences in the cost of administering a plan due to the size of the small group.  Any reward established pursuant to this subsection shall be submitted to the commissioner for informational purposes prior to the payment of any such reward. The requirements to qualify for such reward shall be applied equally and consistently to all small group purchasers, treating all similarly situated purchasers that have qualified for the reward in the same manner.