SENATE BILL 565

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Ben D. Altamirano

AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH INSURANCE; REVISING THE TAX INCENTIVES FOR HEALTH INSURERS THAT ARE ASSESSED PURSUANT TO THE MEDICAL INSURANCE POOL ACT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. Section 59A-54-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989, Chapter 154, Section 10, as amended by Laws 2005, Chapter 301, Section 5 and by Laws 2005, Chapter 305, Section 5) is amended to read:

     "59A-54-10. ASSESSMENTS.--

          A. Following the close of each fiscal year, the pool administrator shall determine the net premium, being premiums less administrative expense allowances, the pool expenses and claim expense losses for the year, taking into account investment income and other appropriate gains and losses. The assessment for each insurer shall be determined by multiplying the total cost of pool operation by a fraction, the numerator of which equals that insurer's premium and subscriber contract charges or their equivalent for health insurance written in the state during the preceding calendar year and the denominator of which equals the total of all premiums and subscriber contract charges written in the state; provided that premium income shall include receipts of medicaid managed care premiums but shall not include any payments by the secretary of health and human services pursuant to a contract issued under Section l876 of the Social Security Act, as amended. The board may adopt other or additional methods of adjusting the formula to achieve equity of assessments among pool members, including assessment of health insurers and reinsurers based upon the number of persons they cover through primary, excess and stop-loss insurance in the state.

          B. If assessments exceed actual losses and administrative expenses of the pool, the excess shall be held at interest and used by the board to offset future losses or to reduce pool premiums. As used in this subsection, "future losses" includes reserves for incurred but not reported claims.

          C. The proportion of participation of each member in the pool shall be determined annually by the board based on annual statements and other reports deemed necessary by the board and filed with it by the member. Any deficit incurred by the pool shall be recouped by assessments apportioned among the members of the pool pursuant to the assessment formula provided by Subsection A of this section; provided that the assessment for any pool member shall be allowed as a [thirty-percent] seventy-five-percent credit on the premium tax return for that member and a [fifty-percent] one-hundred-percent credit on the premium tax return for a member [on the low-income premium schedule pursuant to Subsection B of Section 59A-54-19 NMSA 1978] that receives premiums, in whole or in part, through state funding or assistance.

          D. The board may abate or defer, in whole or in part, the assessment of a member of the pool if, in the opinion of the board, payment of the assessment would endanger the ability of the member to fulfill its contractual obligation. In the event an assessment against a member of the pool is abated or deferred in whole or in part, the amount by which such assessment is abated or deferred may be assessed against the other members in a manner consistent with the basis for assessments set forth in Subsection A of this section. The member receiving the abatement or deferment shall remain liable to the pool for the deficiency for four years."

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