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Insurance department seeks notice when carriers stop writing lines, citing Medicare Advantage disruption
Summary
Senate Bill 121 would require carriers to notify the New Hampshire Insurance Department if they cease writing an entire line of business or significantly change offerings — a measure prompted by recent disruption in the Medicare Advantage market and by consumer confusion, department officials said.
The House Commerce Committee took testimony on Senate Bill 121, a Department of Insurance–backed bill requiring insurers to notify the department when they plan to stop writing a full line of business or substantially change their offerings.
Grant Bosse introduced the bill on behalf of the prime sponsor, Senator Kevin Avard, saying the measure was filed at the department’s request. DJ Betancourt, commissioner of the New Hampshire Insurance Department, told the committee that the bill stems from “a significant degree of disruption” in the Medicare Advantage market this past year, when several carriers narrowed or withdrew product offerings.
“We were inundated with calls from seniors and brokers asking what’s going on,” Betancourt said. The department does not regulate Medicare Advantage itself, he noted, but it licenses companies that sell Medicare Advantage plans. Betancourt said the department’s staff spent a day in phone calls to carriers to learn which plans would continue and which would disappear, a time-consuming effort that the bill’s notice requirement would obviate.
The bill would make notice a licensing condition: carriers would be required to inform the department when they cease writing an entire product line or substantially change their offerings. Betancourt said the intent is to keep the department informed so it can give better consumer guidance.
Several legislators and witnesses discussed the notice period. The federal notice period for Medicare Advantage is 120 days; department rules typically use 90 days. Industry groups said they were working with the department to align state and federal timing, and representatives said an amendment to the bill would change the notice to 90 days to match typical state practice.
Representative Rose asked about enforcement. Betancourt said the requirement would be part of a carrier’s license condition; “if they choose not to comply in a flagrant way, then, yeah, their license would be at risk,” and fines could be imposed.
Supporters including AHIP said they would accept a 90-day amendment; AHIP’s Paula Rogers told the committee that aligning state notice timing with federal rules would alleviate concerns about preemption. The hearing closed with staff and stakeholders signaling ongoing negotiation on the notice period and related technical language.
Why it matters: Department officials described the bill as a transparency measure designed to reduce consumer confusion when carriers make sudden market exits or large plan changes. It arose from real complaints from Medicare beneficiaries and brokers who received notices that carriers were leaving or narrowing offerings.
What’s next: Committee work sessions were expected to consider technical amendments, including language to align the notice period with federal timing and to tailor reporting requirements for property-and-casualty lines that raised carrier concerns.
