Section 404-G:1 Purpose of Provisions.
The purpose of this chapter is to:
I. Protect the citizens of this state who participate in the individual health insurance market by providing a mechanism to equitably distribute the excessive risk sometimes associated with this market and to enable insurers to better protect against the costs of covering high risk individuals.
II. Create a nonprofit, voluntary organization to facilitate the availability of affordable individual nongroup health insurance by establishing an assessment mechanism and an individual health insurance market mandatory risk sharing plan as a mechanism to distribute the risks associated within the individual nongroup market.
III. Establish a high risk pool that will provide access to health insurance to all residents of the state who are denied health insurance for medical or health reasons. The premiums charged for coverage in the high risk pool shall be affordable and the coverage provided shall be reasonably comprehensive and comparable to coverage available outside of the high risk pool. It is the intent of the legislature that the high risk pool shall be adequately funded through an annual, and if necessary, a special assessment mechanism, that the high risk pool shall utilize cost containment measures, including, but not limited to, providing network based coverage, and that measures shall be taken to avoid inappropriate shifting of costs and risk to the high risk pool.
Source. 1998, 340:6. 2001, 295:4, eff. July 1, 2001.