AN ACT to amend and reenact section 26.1-36.7-08 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to requirements for reinsurance association of North Dakota claims; and to declare an emergency.
SB2091 amends North Dakota law governing the Reinsurance Association of North Dakota’s handling of claims under nongrandfathered individual health benefit plans. For claims incurred per plan year between $100,000 and $1 million, the bill requires a member insurer to be reinsured by the association for up to 75% of the insurer’s responsibility for those claims, subject to the plan terms. It also directs the association’s board to set the annual attachment points and coinsurance percentage for association claims by April 1 of the preceding year.
The bill is structured as an emergency measure, meaning it takes effect immediately upon enactment rather than waiting for the normal effective date. The practical effect is to update the state’s reinsurance framework for the individual health insurance market, giving the association and insurers clearer parameters for high-cost claims and annual rate-setting.
SB2091 amends section 26.1-36.7-08 of the North Dakota Century Code, changing the statutory requirements for reinsurance of claims in the state’s individual health insurance reinsurance program. It affects the Reinsurance Association of North Dakota, member insurers, and enrollees in nongrandfathered individual health benefit plans by defining the claim range eligible for reinsurance and the maximum percentage of insurer responsibility that may be covered. The bill also requires annual board action on attachment points and coinsurance percentages, which may influence premium stability and insurer risk exposure in the individual market.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible controversy. It passed the Senate 46-1 and the House 87-5, with no committee transcript or recorded floor debate provided in the materials. The strong vote margins suggest general agreement that the measure is a technical or administrative update to the state’s health insurance reinsurance system, likely intended to support market stability and continuity.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials, but the subject matter could raise policy questions about how much risk should be shifted from insurers to the reinsurance association and how the annual attachment points and coinsurance percentages should be set. Any disagreement would likely center on the balance between premium relief for consumers, insurer participation in the individual market, and the cost of the reinsurance program to the state or participating insurers. However, the recorded votes indicate those issues did not generate substantial opposition in this bill’s passage.