Sec. B-12. 24-A MRSA §2808-C is enacted to read:

§2808-C.__Small group health plans

1.__Purpose.__The purpose of this section is to promote the availability of health insurance coverage to small employers, to prevent abusive rating practices, to require disclosure of rating practices to purchasers of small group health plans, to establish standards for continuity of coverage__for small employers and their covered employees and to improve the efficiency and fairness of the small group market.

2.__Definitions.__As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

A.__"Actuarial certification" means a written statement by a member of the American Academy of Actuaries or other individual acceptable to the superintendent that a carrier offering small group health plans is in compliance with the provisions of subsection 4 based on the person's examination and review of the carrier's appropriate records and the actuarial assumptions and methods used by the carrier to establish premium rates for its small group health plans.

B.__"Base premium rate" means, for each class of business as to a rating period, the lowest premium rate charged or which could have been charged under a rating system for that class of business by a small group carrier to small employers with similar case characteristics for health plans with the same or similar coverage.

C.__"Carrier" means any insurance company, nonprofit hospital and medical service organization or health maintenance organization authorized to issue small group health plans in this State.__For the purposes of this section, carriers that are affiliated companies or that are eligible to file consolidated tax returns are treated as one carrier and any restrictions or limitations imposed by this section apply as if all small group health plans delivered or issued for delivery in this State by affiliated carriers were issued by one carrier.__For purposes of this section, health maintenance organizations are treated as separate organizations from affiliated insurance companies and nonprofit hospital and medical service organizations.