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NH Municipal Insurance Pools Navigate Rough Patch
23 Jul
Summary
- Two risk pools became insolvent, facing millions in claims.
- Spikes in health spending and bidding wars caused deficits.
- Executive actions vetoed, leaving risk pools at 15% reserves.
New Hampshire's municipal risk pools for health, property liability, and workers' compensation insurance have overcome recent financial challenges. Secretary of State David Scanlan indicated the pools are now on "firmer financial footing."
Significant deficits arose due to increased health insurance spending and competitive bidding that led to underestimation of required funds. The COVID-19 pandemic's aftermath and covering expensive GLP-1 weight-loss drugs also impacted costs.
Two pools, the New Hampshire Interlocal Trust and the Property and Liability Trust, became insolvent in recent years. The former faced $600,000 in pending claims, while the latter has $2.7 million in open claims for workers' compensation.
Governor Kelly Ayotte vetoed bills that would have altered regulation and reserve limits. HealthTrust, which maintained higher reserves of approximately 20%, avoided the severe financial issues experienced by other pools.
Legal challenges are ongoing, with cities like Dover and Portsmouth contesting additional assessments to cover deficits. The outcome of these lawsuits could impact other communities within the pooled risk organizations.
