Small Group Health Insurance Plan Renewal

The act clarifies that if a small employer has been issued a health benefit plan subject to small group insurance laws and rules, and then following the issuance date subsequently employs more than 100 employees, the small group insurance laws and rules continue to apply to the plan as long as the employer renews the current health benefit plan. If the employer opts to renew its current plan, the act requires an insurance carrier to offer the employer the same small group health benefit plan or, if the same plan is no longer available, a similar plan that the carrier offers to other small employers.

The act requires an insurance carrier to notify the employer that the small group insurance laws and rules will no longer apply if the employer fails to renew the current plan or elects to enroll in a different health benefit plan.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)