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Committee considers giving towns 36 months to pay special assessments from pooled risk programs; insurers caution on solvency
Summary
SB 605 would let political subdivisions pay special assessments from assessable pooled risk programs in installments over 36 months. HealthTrust and School Care testified with contrasting cautions: HealthTrust recommended higher reserves and risk‑based capital metrics; School Care warned that extended collection could endanger solvency and described a recent $30 million assessment.
Senate Finance took testimony on SB 605, a bill that would permit political subdivisions to pay special assessments from pooled risk programs in installments over a 36‑month period. Sponsor Senator Rebecca Perkins Kwoka said the change would help municipalities budget for unexpected, large assessments.
Representatives of HealthTrust, Jean Herrick (general counsel) and Scott Roach (executive director), explained that New Hampshire hosts both assessable and non‑assessable pool models and emphasized reserve adequacy. Roach told the committee that proposed statutory targets of 12–16% would be "less than half" the national average for government risk pools; he cited Association of Governmental Risk Pools (AGRIP) averages in the mid‑30s percent range and said HealthTrust had a 20% target, fell as low as about 5% but has rebuilt to roughly 10.6%.
Roach said planning for a 36‑month assessment collection period effectively requires a longer solvency horizon (four to five years) and that pooled programs should consider risk‑based capital (RBC) style metrics rather than a single fixed percentage. He also said HealthTrust's actuaries provided a range (roughly 17–28% expressed as a percent of contributions) for capital adequacy and that a statutory number would need actuarial alignment.
Kirk Biatti, city manager of Laconia, said his city faced more than $1 million in assessments last year and supported the bill's intent to allow payment over time. Margaret Burns of the New Hampshire Municipal Association said SB 605 clarifies whether pools are assessable (required in bylaws/member agreements) and allows communities more choice; NHMA remained neutral on the exact 36‑month period.
School Care executive director Lisa Duquette urged caution. She described a rapid deterioration in reserves that led to issuance of an approximately $30,000,000 assessment in 2025, and said School Care had to invoice members with amounts due upon receipt to remain solvent. Duquette told the committee that while some flexibility was later provided to members, claims must be paid promptly and a blanket 36‑month option could "weaken the protection the pools provide for the members."
The committee asked HealthTrust and School Care to submit actuarial reports and meeting minutes for further review. With no votes taken, the committee closed the hearing and adjourned.
