business

BOSTON – March 1, 2018 – The Massachusetts Health Connector for Business and the New England Business Association announced today a partnership that will make it easier for Massachusetts small businesses to access the affordable health insurance options created by Health Connector for Business. The new partnership creates a statewide visibility and access partnership that will make it easy for New England Business Association members to access Health Connector for Business and provide health insurance to employees. The agreement is the first of its kind for Health Connector for Business, which unveiled a new online experience in November 2017 that created an easy-to-use platform offering savings to business owners and plan choice to employees. “We are excited by this partnership with the New England Business Association, which will make it easier for thousands of small employers to access health insurance through Health Connector for Business,” said Massachusetts Health Connector Executive Director Louis Gutierrez. “Through the new platform, employers can quickly determine their costs and benefits for the year, while offering their employees the flexibility to pick their own plan from a range of health insurers for the first time ever in the Massachusetts small group market.” “Small business owners are keenly aware of the costs associated with health care benefits and yet also understand how important this benefit is to attract new employees and to develop a culture of employee satisfaction,” said New England Business Association President and Chief Executive Officer Karim Hill. “This partnership will dramatically change the way [...]

BOSTON – November 13, 2018 – The Baker-Polito Administration today announced it has secured from the U.S. Department of Human Services the flexibility to extend another year the existing use of small group rating factors to hold down premium increases and maintain stability in the market for small employers. The rating factors are permitted under state law, but are not aligned with requirements under federal law. Through a series of requests to the federal government, the Commonwealth has been able to maintain those state rating factors in order to avoid market disruption and maintain premium consistency for small employers. “We thank our federal partners for authorizing the continued use of state rating factors to provide stability and stabilize premium costs for small businesses in Massachusetts,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “With this important flexibility in place, we can continue to provide predictability to the market and continue to make health insurance more affordable to companies and their employees.” Massachusetts received a waiver in 2013 to allow a gradual transition to full compliance with the Affordable Care Act, and the waiver recognized the success of Massachusetts’ state health reform law passed in 2006 in expanding coverage. Massachusetts has the highest insured rate in the nation, with 97.5 percent of residents covered, an achievement supported by the latitude to continue some state insurance practices, such as rating factors permitted under state law. These state rating factors offer insurers greater flexibility to price insurance plans according to the traditional practices of the Massachusetts market, [...]