Bill > H914

This bill aims to alleviate health care burdens for Massachusetts employers by making changes to the state's health insurance markets. The key provisions include: 1. Removing "eligible individual" as a defined term, effectively decoupling individual and small group health plans. This shifts the focus to small group plans only. 2. Eliminating provisions related to the "merged market" and instead using "small group" terminology throughout. 3. Requiring large carriers (with 5,000+ enrollees) to file plans for the Connector's consideration annually. 4. Expanding requirements for carriers to make all their small group plans available to every eligible small business. 5. Providing exceptions for carriers to deny coverage in certain circumstances, such as when a small business has failed to pay premiums or made misrepresentations. 6. Making changes to the individual health insurance market, including establishing an annual open enrollment period and provisions around out-of-network services, tiered networks, and data sharing. The overall goal appears to be streamlining the small group health insurance market and reducing administrative burdens for Massachusetts employers, while maintaining consumer protections.

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https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H914