SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3270

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 4, 2019

      The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3270.

     The bill amends the statutes that govern the New Jersey Small Employer Health Benefits (SEH) Program to prohibit health insurance carriers and other insurers from offering stop loss insurance policies to small employers in the State.  The bill does not prohibit a carrier or any other insurer from offering, issuing, or renewing a stop loss insurance policy to a multiple employer arrangement.

     Stop loss insurance is designed to provide reimbursement for catastrophic, excess, or unexpected expenses, and it is used by some small employers to self-insure part of the health benefits coverage for their employees.

     Under current law governing the SEH, a small employer is defined to mean one that employs an average of at least two but not more than 50 employees, and the majority of the employees are employed in New Jersey.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to provide that the bill does not prohibit a carrier or any other insurer from offering, issuing, or renewing a stop loss insurance policy to a multiple employer arrangement.