Feb 11, 2010

Mass. governor moves to control small business health care costsBy Michael LevensonBoston.com

Governor Deval Patrick said that, beginning today, the state insurance commissioner will require health insurance companies to provide advance notice of any rate increases for small businesses and will reject those that he believes are “unreasonable or excessive.”

Any increases that are “significantly higher” than the current level of medical inflation, 3.2 percent, will automatically be challenged by Insurance Commissioner Joseph G. Murphy, Patrick told a breakfast meeting of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

“This is aggressive,” the governor said, “but we have to give small businesses some economic breathing room until we can implement the kind of payment reform that will curtail costs across the health care system.”

The new rule received a mixed response from the gathering of business leaders at the Westin Copley Place.

During a question-and-answer session, Paul Guzzi, the chamber president, asked the governor “if this isn’t a bludgeon with potentially unintended consequences that can not only impact what many still consider to be a world-class health care system here, but can also impact one of the economic drivers of the Commonwealth.”

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