Neighborhood Health Plan Shares Position on Action Taken by Division of Insurance to Reject Small Group Premium Rates

Boston, MA - April 5, 2010 - Today, Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP), along with the commercial member plans of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans (MAHP), and Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), filed a legal complaint in court challenging the legality of the regulations adopted by the Division of Insurance (DOI) and the process it is following in connection with its recent rejection of small group premium rates.

In the past several months, NHP has been actively working, both independently and with the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans (MAHP), to present the DOI and the Governors Administration with alternative product and policy solutions to the imposed premium rate capitation. Numerous viable, alternative solutions were presented to the DOI and to the Governor in order to meet the needs of small groups, but none of these were accepted by them.

On April 1st, NHP, along with other health plans in Massachusetts offering commercial products to small group businesses, received a letter notifying us that the Division of Insurance disapproved many of the rates that NHP filed for the months of April through June.

At Neighborhood Health Plan we share the concerns that many have expressed about the impact rising health care costs are having on small businesses, and the residents of Massachusetts as a whole. After weighing all the factors, we believe this is the most prudent course of action to take in this matter so that NHP may continue to pursue its mission and focus on what matters to us most: ensuring high quality health care services for our members and the communities we serve.

For more than 25 years, NHP has been nationally known and repeatedly recognized as one of the top Medicaid and Commercial health plans in the country, partnering with providers and other community-based organizations to ensure the delivery of high quality care to hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents in that time, especially to those residents who are low income, underserved, and vulnerable, and many of whom have complex care management needs.

NHP remains committed to working with the Administration on balanced solutions that help small group businesses receive rate relief. As developments unfold in this matter we will continue to keep our members and business partners appraised of NHP's position and actions regarding it.

Media Contact: Rhian Gregory - Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications - Neighborhood Health Plan - 617-620-0517