Committee debates solvency guardrails and whether to move oversight of pooled-risk plans to insurance department

CONCORD — The House Health Insurance Committee spent the bulk of its hearing debating legislation to set minimum reserve standards and other financial safeguards for municipal pooled-risk organizations that provide health coverage to cities, towns and school districts. Committee members heard testimony about recent insolvencies and a proposal to move oversight from the Secretary of State—s Office to the New Hampshire Insurance Department for day-to-day solvency supervision.

Committee chair and members said they wanted to pass a bill this year to reduce the risk of insolvency among pooled-risk groups but left open where ultimate regulatory responsibility should sit. The committee agreed to develop an amendment for next week that would set solvency standards in statute while delegating numeric implementation and enforcement to the Insurance Department through rulemaking.

Why it matters: pooled-risk organizations are run by political subdivisions that jointly self-insure to obtain coverage at scale. If a pooled risk runs out of reserves, member towns and school districts ultimately face the costs — a direct taxpayer exposure. Witnesses said recent…