Amending the Public Employee Health Benefits Act To Improve Competition and Transparency

On Dec. 28, 2018 former Governor Rick Snyder signed into law amendments to the Public Employee Health Benefits Act (PEHBA). PEHBA applies to public employers, including cities, counties, schools, and universities who offer healthcare benefits to their employees. This bill aligns with MAHPs focus on competition and transparency in healthcare.

The Public Employee market has been dominated by a single carrier. Our research showed one carrier carried almost 80 percent of the public entities MAHP reviewed. Frequently, our Plans would “decline to quote” public employers based on a lack of usable data. This caused limited health plan choices for public entities contributing to a high market concentration.

Our solution was to introduce a bill, aligned with our Strategic Goals, which increased the level of data provided when these entities bid their services. Fortunately, the Governor and the Legislature saw this as great policy and worked to pass our bill. MAHP expects this bill to increase competition by allowing more accurate quoting during the bid cycle.

Senate Bill 1205, now signed into law amending PEHBA, is a great step toward further healthcare competition and transparency. MAHP thanks the Legislators and former Governor Snyder for enacting policy to move Michigan forward. MAHP looks forward to working with the new legislature and Governor Whitmer on further efforts aligned with our Strategic Goals!