Today I attended a meeting of the private market merger commission. (This was the first full Commission meeting we knew about in advance, and not the first meeting of the Commission.) The meeting was a contrast to the Connector Board meeting going on at the same time. No buzz, no media, no debate, no health care who’s who, no “see and be seen” scene and no shortage of chairs.
There were plenty of empty chairs. Only 2 of the 9 commission members were in attendance (Rina Vertes and Gary Lin) and 2 others represented by designees: Nancy Schwartz, chairing the meeting on behalf of Commissioner Bowler and Paul Rumler, who was sitting in for Sen. Wilkerson. There were three people representing the team chosen to conduct the study mandated by health reform, and four in the audience.
Study Team Chosen: We learned that Gorman Actuarial has been chosen to conduct the study of the merger of the small and nongroup insurance markets. The Gorman team includes Steve Tringale (a local and highly respected health industry expert) and Elinor Socholitzky who will assist with policy interpretation. Also involved is Charles DeWeese of DeWeese Consulting, Inc. The team, led by Bela Gorman, seemed daunted by the task of pulling together such a comprehensive report under a tight timeline, and very capable and eager to be involved with a project this complex and interesting.
How to Get the Data: Gorman reported that the insurers and intermediaries have been asked to submit data within three weeks. The obstacle of having to go through intermediaries has delayed the time line by a week, and the group still hopes to complete the study by their December 1 deadline.
Who Counts: Only six major insurers have been asked to submit data. There was a short discussion about this, with consensus that those were the only insurers from which they were likely to get data and that they are carriers for more than 80 percent of the market, but a firm decision was deferred until there could be a quorum.
The Big Questions: The group agreed to have a longer meeting two weeks from now to discuss assumptions. This should be an important meeting. I’m hoping to learn how they will consider decisions of the Connector Board regarding the affordability standard for the individual mandate. If the Board votes to exempt certain income groups from the individual mandate, it will impact takeup rates, the average health in the risk pool and premiums. I hope that they are watching the Connector and that the Connector is watching them. (We’re happy to facilitate, of course.)
Future Meetings: The Commission agreed to meet every Thursday at 10. (conflicting with Connector Board meetings) Next week’s meeting will be a short update. The following week, the Commission and the study team will discuss the sticky issue of assumptions. We will post any material we can to our web site and keep you posted.
Melissa Shannon
