State House Passes Health Insurance and Teacher Bills

Proponents of Senate Bill 110 were defensive on the House Floor, after several members had criticized the bill during debate.

Commerce Committee Chairman John Hunt told the House that SB110 was good for small businesses, because it answered the chief complaint of most health insurance consumers.
11 910 what have our constituents been asking for? They?re saying to us, our health insurance premiums keep going up year in and year out, you?ve got to do something about this. And that?s what this bill is about.

But the promised benefits of SB 110 did little to stem the doubts of several speakers against the bill.

Representative Mark Brady of Jefferson used his first speech to the House to condemn the concept that SB 110 would foster competition, by bringing more insurance companies into the state.
The competition is going to be for somebody like me. Someone that?s 38 years old and healthy. And they?re going to be able to go cherry pick, because this bill is going to give them the ability to, by all the different rating factors, of which, probably the most onerous of all of them, is the medical underwriting. :20

Several speakers derided medical underwriting, for the latitude it would allow companies to price insurance.

They warned that construction or restaurant workers would pay more, because their jobs could be considered ?dangerous occupations?.

And they balked at the concept that insurance companies would be able to charge higher rates for people who had chronic conditions, like diabetes.

The critics were also dissatisfied with the bill for allowing companies to charge residents of the Seacoast or North Country higher rates, just because of where they lived.

Commerce Committee chairman Hunt took strong exception to this last charge.
11 846 this bill is for the north country. That?s the irony of this debate. Right now the north country only has one insurance company, and I promised I wouldn?t pick on this one company. But they have a monopoly up there. 901 no wonder they told all the small employers that this bill is the scourge of the earth.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is the only major insurance carrier in northern New Hampshire.

The debate concerning a bill that would streamline the procedure to fire poorly performing teachers also stirred emotions on both sides of the issue.

Representative Jeffrey Carter of Manchester rose in favor of SB76, saying it took too long to get rid of bad teachers under the current system of removal.
05 36 I believe that the current practice of multiple appeals of teacher non renewal decisions, is de facto teacher tenure, that makes holding failing teachers accountable for classroom performance far too costly, and time consuming. 05 55

But critics of SB76 said the bill undercut local communities, because many allow teachers who want to appeal dismissal the option of binding arbitration.

Under arbitration, an independent party judges the merits of a case, rather than bringing the case into a court of law.

Representative Kathleen Souza of Manchester said the bill would allow teachers to appeal a dismissal a different way, but she doubted it would be worth much.
04 746 this bill says that you may go to the state school board. But it?s a kangaroo court the way this bill is written, because this bill limits the state school board to upholding the local school board decision, unless it is, quote, ?clearly errouneous?. Can any two of us in this hall agree what clearly erroneous is or might be? 04 815

SB 76 passed the House by 92 votes.

The House has finished its consideration of Senate Bills for this session.

But House and Senate members will continue to be busy for weeks to come.

Both need to work out final versions of dozens of bills in committees of conference.