Health Insurance in New Hampshire
Expensive New Hampshire Health Care Ruining Economy: study
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund reveals that health care costs are higher than ever, and will continue to rise. The study reports that between 2003 and 2010, it cost employers paid for family coverage rose 50%. The cost for the employees’ to pay out-of-pocket for their health insurance premiums rose by 63%. Employers could have used this money for salary or wage increases, better benefits or hiring new employees.
New Hampshire health insurance was among the hardest hit by these rising costs. The average premium cost in New Hampshire is about 25% higher than the lowest states, and employer-based health insurance costs have increased three times faster than employee wages in the last decade. (from www.dailyfinance.com)
Low-cost Health Insurance in New Hampshire
Affordable Health Care in New Hampshire (AHCA)
While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will help to reduce costs initially for individual health and insurance and employer-offered plans, health insurance companies in New Hampshire are worried about their businesses having to lower their prices to compete in the market. The AHCA plans to provide over 1 million Americans with health insurance by 2015 and the government will play a larger role in oversight of insurance agencies and how they spend their money.
Goals of the AHCA include:
- Lowering administrative overhead in health insurance companies
- Increase oversight of private health insurance companies
- Return excess money as rebates to health insurance customers
- State reviews of premium increases over 10%
Health Exchange in New Hampshire (HIE)
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/hie/) recently received a $5.5 million award from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to use toward promoting the New Hampshire Health Information Exchange (HIE). Along with Health Information Technology (HIT, which will also be deployed, the HIE is an information system across the health care system that will electronically link health care providers in order to share patient information securely and quickly.
Evidence suggests this will improve health outcomes for residents of New Hampshire by reducing medical errors and controlling health care costs.
Goals of the Health Information Exchange and Health Information Technology:
- Improve patient safety and quality of health care
- Enhance public health
- Reduce health care costs
- Increase access to health care
- Increase consumer engagement and consumer authority
New Hampshire Comprehensive Health Care Information System (CHIS)
The New Hampshire Comprehensive Health Care Information System (http://www.nhchis.org/) was created by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the New Hampshire Health Insurance Department with the intent to provide resources for health insurance companies, employers, and consumers who need health insurance in New Hampshire. Their goal is for consumers to educate themselves and make cost-effective choices when they buy health insurance.
CHIS and Medcaid:
CHIS reviews Medicaid’s annual agenda, focusing on health insurance costs and health care, and how they vary by locations in New Hampshire. These reports are generated for public release periodically and are available for download.
For more information about new Hampshire health insurance, contact:
New Hampshire Insurance Department (http://www.nh.gov/insurance/lah/index.htm)
21 South Fruit Street, Suite 14
Concord, NH 03301
E-Mail: consumerservices@ins.nh.gov
Telephone: 603.271.2261
Consumer Hotline: 1.800.852.3416
Fax: 603.271.1406
